I'd be shocked but I could see this coming from a mile away. Usually the fanboys aren't this obvious but this is just plain dastardly.
Exhibit number one...This post by Sweetman...
The Netherlands has decided to delay and stretch out its acquisition of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. In a July 1 letter to parliament, defense minister Hans Hillen says that a revised plan, reflecting the most recent schedule changes "starts the flow of production aircraft in 2019, and lasts until 2027".To be honest, if he had simply left it at that then it wouldn't be worthy of comment, but as usual Sweetman continues to make statements that are questionable at best. I won't even get into the comments section where the merry band from 'down under' get swept away in the joy of an apparent anti F-35 victory. Pathetic.
Exhibit number two...Bob Cox weighs in....
Its really not even worth the time to read. The guy obviously has an massive hard on for the guys at Lockheed Martin (as does Sweetman) so my best advice to them is to always use soap on a rope when Cox comes around (pun intended).
Exhibit number three...some dude named Colin Horgan...
He's a new player (at least I never heard of him) but what makes his post noteworthy is the fact that it almost mirrors Cox's exactly.
I'm not saying that there is collusion here but my goodness it sure looks like.
The question now becomes...what should Lockheed Martin do?
There is a group of reporters that are obviously talking...obviously comparing notes...obviously working overtime to kill a program that your company is working hard to get into the hands of US and allied War Fighters.
What should you do? Check out the vid below.
Oh and LM...love ya'll but how can you put advertising right next to stories that are blasting your products? On two of the three articles I cited above, there was actually advertising for the F-35 running! Come on guys this is 2011! How about being smarter with your advertising budget!
It's alright. In another ten years when F-35s are flying in several airforces and everybody is busy ignoring the Eurocanards we'll get to give epic payback. Sweetman & Co. will get to see just how big of a biotch Karma can be.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand how this is F35 bashing
ReplyDeleteYou're not disputing any of the facts being reported
None of the three articles invoke the cost death spiral scenario which while highly critical would still not be "bashing". By that standard I think the articles rate somewhere between neutral and pro-F35
LM should keep advertising in Aviation Week. To withdraw advertising shows weakness and a "toys out of the pram" attitude. If they believe in their product they will take the flak.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think running away from critics makes the critics stronger. It's better to engage in open debate and prove your point. This is assuming of course that you aren't debating with someone who fundamentally believes in their side and won't listen to other views. There are both pro and anti JSFers who are like this and you can't reason with them.
(As an aside, I noticed that Thomas has resorted to BLOCK CAPITIAL ABUSE, which is always a clear sign that his argument has been lost!).
I wouldn't say I'm rabidly pro-F-35, but I really want it to succeed. If it fails it screws a lot of western airforces. Saying that, if it becomes so expensive you can't afford a full strength force then it's useless, no matter how good it's capabilities are.
In terms of the Eurocanards, imagine if the roles were reversed, and Europe was about to dominate the western fighter market with a design so advanced it would put the US manufacturers out of business, would you be concerned about losing the US industrial base? Based on some of your recent posts Sol I think you would be, so you can't blame Sweetman for having his concern.
BB1984...the idea that some European nations are sliding purchases to the right is not news worthy. its all about the current financial situation that the global economy is facing and to do any less would be their leadership shirking its responsibility to its people. what is annoying is how the economic situation is ignored and how its automatically assumed and the idea pushed that these nations are losing faith in the F-35.
ReplyDeleteTom...i think they should pull the advertising from Aviation Week. Sweetman has led a one man Jihad against this program...i've left Wall out of it but he's been part of the cabal and even Trimble has been found to be nibbling at the edges of this little Australian conspiracy. pulling advertising would be Lockheed Martin telling management at Aviation Week that 'hey, we're looking, we warned you yet you still won't keep your pit bull on his chain'...here's your pay back. LM would be in a position of power if they not only did that but did it publicly.
as far as the Europeans are concerned, they're too fractured to ever develop one competing airplane...what do they have fighting each other today...the Gripen, the Typhoon and the Rafale....your theory is nice but has no basis in reality.
I reread bill's post and I still don't see where he attributes any particular reason to the push outs at all
ReplyDeleteI disagree with you that this is not newsworthy. All the official F35 cost estimates are based on a rapid ramp to a very high production rate. Anything that could interfere with either the ramp or the rate has potentially serious repercussions. This also goes to my point about Sweetman: you're saying he's a hater but he doesn't mention any worst case cost/timeline effects at all and in the post itself he does not editorialize at all about this reflecting on faith in the F35, though he does go a little of the way down that road in the comments.
well i'm not going to debate it with ya. you disagree ... awesome.
ReplyDeleteI know what Bill is going to harp on next: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2011/07/13/359441/lockheed-adds-771-million-to-early-f-35-production.html
ReplyDeleteLockheed says there is a $771 million overrun for the first 31 planes. According to the contract, the government pays the overruns for the 1-3 LRIP's and Lockheed any after that.
Fair enough, we disagree. As for the Eurocanards question, I wasn't suggesting that this was ever going to happen (or has a basis in reality). I was just trying to show you why some in Europe are concerned about LM's future dominance of the Western fighter market.
ReplyDeleteQuote from LM's Burbage
ReplyDelete"However, over the last two years, program adjustments have moved approximately 240 U.S. airplanes out of the near-term production profile into future years. There has also been an additional movement of some planned partner nation procurements in response to those changes. This movement is the single largest contributor to the increase in unit cost for the F-35."