The only thing impressive is the program management incompetence. Note, no working mission systems. Maybe they can do ship-board motor change on Operation:PR STUNT II ?
what kills me is that other military blogs are jumping up and down and saying hey...what the fuck!!!
the US Army is about to be raped by this airplane. they've already lost the GCV and AMPV and will probably lose the JLTV to this not to mention a HUGE cut in forces. the Navy is about to be ravaged with cuts to 8 carriers and mothballed ships and squadrons. the Air Force won't be able to do anything but support this plane with dozens of squadrons closed, B-52 retired, C-130 retired etc...
the military blogging community is quiet when it should be outraged. i don't get it.
I am not sure what you mean by “no working mission systems”.
While BF-01 is a “Flight Sciences” (ie orange wire) bird, BF-05 is a full missions system F-35. It was actually the first F-35B to fly with Block 2A. Flight testing of Block 2B has already started, but I am not sure if BF-05 is one of them.
Anyhow, the purpose of DT2 is to test and evaluate the ability of the ship and the F-35 to interact, be maintained, etc. They will be changing a lot more than the engine, but I would imagine that would be the biggest challenge.
DT2 also introduced night ops to the testing plan.
Spudman, I don't think you'll ever be able to sway Sol.
He seems to think the F-35 is the ONLY reason the USMC/US Army, and USN aren't getting all of their shiny new toys while also having a 520K Army and 200K Marines.
why do you care. this is one blog in a huge internet.
also why are the weapons that are used on the ground toys while the F-35 is vital? additionally why are MASSIVe troops cuts nothing to be concerned about????
one day the military will wake up. one day so will the military blogs. when that happens what you're seeing on my page will be like a light summer shower. you're gonna be seeing hurricane force winds and calls to cut off the heads of the JCS.
Actually, my comments were directed towards ELP (who I affectionately call the "drive-by blogger") and not Sol.
While Sol is quite passionate, he at least listens to reason and backs up most of it with facts. While I may disagree with some of the causes and conclusions, I do enjoy his opinion on most matters.
Sol, large scale troop cuts were going to happen regardless as the Army and Marines wind down from over a decade of continuous fighting. That is a reasonable and normal course of action.
The GCV getting killed by its own design requirements. The proposed vehicles are currently heavier than a MBT with all the logistics, range, and mobility issues that that implies.
The Carrier issue has more than anything to do with the cost of building the carriers and the cost of operating them. The carriers have gotten to be incredibly expensive are have generally been operated with understaffed air wings. With just the big deck carriers, we have more carriers than the entire world combined. Add in the small deck LHA/LHDs and we have more than double. The question is do we really need so many active carriers?
If you “had” to make a choice, then yes. The Block 2A F-35s are completely capable of dropping JDAMs, Paveways, and AMRAAMs. Have they demonstrated this, only to a degree.
Would I do it, hells no. There is just too much yet to verify at this point. Some of that verification is being done at DT2, which is the point. ELP complains a lot about the schedule and that there are so many points left to verify, then makes the “PR Stunt II” comment. You cannot have it both ways.
This is a moot point however, as ELP did not say anything about “go to war” ready F-35s, but the missions systems in the F-35.
The only thing impressive is the program management incompetence. Note, no working mission systems. Maybe they can do ship-board motor change on Operation:PR STUNT II ?
ReplyDeletewhat kills me is that other military blogs are jumping up and down and saying hey...what the fuck!!!
Deletethe US Army is about to be raped by this airplane. they've already lost the GCV and AMPV and will probably lose the JLTV to this not to mention a HUGE cut in forces. the Navy is about to be ravaged with cuts to 8 carriers and mothballed ships and squadrons. the Air Force won't be able to do anything but support this plane with dozens of squadrons closed, B-52 retired, C-130 retired etc...
the military blogging community is quiet when it should be outraged. i don't get it.
that should be aren't jumping up and down saying....
DeleteI am not sure what you mean by “no working mission systems”.
DeleteWhile BF-01 is a “Flight Sciences” (ie orange wire) bird, BF-05 is a full missions system F-35. It was actually the first F-35B to fly with Block 2A. Flight testing of Block 2B has already started, but I am not sure if BF-05 is one of them.
Anyhow, the purpose of DT2 is to test and evaluate the ability of the ship and the F-35 to interact, be maintained, etc. They will be changing a lot more than the engine, but I would imagine that would be the biggest challenge.
DT2 also introduced night ops to the testing plan.
Spudman, I don't think you'll ever be able to sway Sol.
DeleteHe seems to think the F-35 is the ONLY reason the USMC/US Army, and USN aren't getting all of their shiny new toys while also having a 520K Army and 200K Marines.
why do you care. this is one blog in a huge internet.
Deletealso why are the weapons that are used on the ground toys while the F-35 is vital? additionally why are MASSIVe troops cuts nothing to be concerned about????
one day the military will wake up. one day so will the military blogs. when that happens what you're seeing on my page will be like a light summer shower. you're gonna be seeing hurricane force winds and calls to cut off the heads of the JCS.
Actually, my comments were directed towards ELP (who I affectionately call the "drive-by blogger") and not Sol.
DeleteWhile Sol is quite passionate, he at least listens to reason and backs up most of it with facts. While I may disagree with some of the causes and conclusions, I do enjoy his opinion on most matters.
SpudmanWP, let me ask you this simple yes or no question: Can we take any of the F-35s we have right now to war?
DeleteSol, large scale troop cuts were going to happen regardless as the Army and Marines wind down from over a decade of continuous fighting. That is a reasonable and normal course of action.
DeleteThe GCV getting killed by its own design requirements. The proposed vehicles are currently heavier than a MBT with all the logistics, range, and mobility issues that that implies.
The Carrier issue has more than anything to do with the cost of building the carriers and the cost of operating them. The carriers have gotten to be incredibly expensive are have generally been operated with understaffed air wings. With just the big deck carriers, we have more carriers than the entire world combined. Add in the small deck LHA/LHDs and we have more than double. The question is do we really need so many active carriers?
If you “had” to make a choice, then yes. The Block 2A F-35s are completely capable of dropping JDAMs, Paveways, and AMRAAMs. Have they demonstrated this, only to a degree.
ReplyDeleteWould I do it, hells no. There is just too much yet to verify at this point. Some of that verification is being done at DT2, which is the point. ELP complains a lot about the schedule and that there are so many points left to verify, then makes the “PR Stunt II” comment. You cannot have it both ways.
This is a moot point however, as ELP did not say anything about “go to war” ready F-35s, but the missions systems in the F-35.