Thanks for the note Lee!
via Inside Defense.
That one program is altering Marine Corps procurement in particular and Department of Defense programs in general.
Critics will state that the F-35 isn't causing delays and cancellations.
I say BULLSHIT!
The Amphibious Combat Vehicle, Marine Personnel Carrier, Ground Combat Vehicle, Advanced Armed Scout, Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle and I'm hearing rumblings that even the CH-53K are all victims of the biggest clusterfuck in US history. Even worse? Savage personnel cuts are also coming down the pike that will be used to fatten the stockholders' account at Lockheed Martin just to keep a questionable (at best) program going.
The F-35 is a venereal disease that is being passed around and is infecting every part of the Pentagon. Strangely enough its affecting both personnel and equipment.
Remember this from 2011? via Defense Tech.
The experiment failed. An aviator is not fit to lead the United States Marine Corps.
Navy and Marine Corps officials have reviewed the most recent version of the Amphibious Combat Vehicle feasibility study, and any decisions made will be tied to the fiscal year 2015 budget request, according to the Navy's top acquisition official.This my friends is why I keep pounding on the F-35 like a old drum.
The ACV team briefed senior leadership on the status of the group's efforts and the team continues to research and engage with industry and academia to develop requirements for the program. Sean Stackley, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, called it a "great study" with "great results," he said. "Now we're at the decision point."
The team, which is located at Marine Corps Base Quantico, VA, briefed Navy and Marine Corps leadership on what is in the realm of the possible. However, Gen. John Paxton, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, said on Jan. 15 that the service is not at decision point, but is getting closer to it. "What we have committed to do is keep the ACV program alive in the current budget environment," he said.
That one program is altering Marine Corps procurement in particular and Department of Defense programs in general.
Critics will state that the F-35 isn't causing delays and cancellations.
I say BULLSHIT!
The Amphibious Combat Vehicle, Marine Personnel Carrier, Ground Combat Vehicle, Advanced Armed Scout, Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle and I'm hearing rumblings that even the CH-53K are all victims of the biggest clusterfuck in US history. Even worse? Savage personnel cuts are also coming down the pike that will be used to fatten the stockholders' account at Lockheed Martin just to keep a questionable (at best) program going.
The F-35 is a venereal disease that is being passed around and is infecting every part of the Pentagon. Strangely enough its affecting both personnel and equipment.
Remember this from 2011? via Defense Tech.
“There are two answers to that, one is as Commandant of the Marine Corps’s answer which is Before I leave leave office four years from now … we’ll have a program of record, we’ll have steel, there will be a vehicle and I’ll be able to drive it,” Amos said responding to lawmakers questions during a House Armed Services Committee hearing. “I’m trying to pressurize industry, I’m trying to pressurize the acquisition folks, I want the word to get out. If we followed the standard acquisition timeline, which in some cases got us to where we are today, it’ll be 2024.”Considering the track record of leadership, I am not surprised by another broken promise/lie.
The experiment failed. An aviator is not fit to lead the United States Marine Corps.
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ReplyDeleteHey sol. You know Im a fan of the F-35 and consider it a critical requirement. I also supported the CH-53K...Then I found out just how much one of these CH-53Ks cost.
ReplyDeleteHoly shit, 115 million dollars a piece, for another 21 million you could kill a 10 of them with a brand new F-35A.
http://www.gao.gov/assets/660/653379.pdf have a look there are hotlinks in the report to save your time.
Holy shit, at 4 million approximate price for the Patria AMV or the Iveco SuperAV The USMC can drop some of this helicopter in house and buy 1000 new APCs for only a reduction of 35 CH-53Ks from the 196 currently in the program.
The wars are about over so the urgent need for better light armored vehicles over other technologies is rapidly diminishing.
The USMC is going to get their vehicles if they really want them, perhaps the LAV-25 A2s just aren't old enough yet. The money is apparently there somewhere, so lets not be neutering the Air Force and Navy's future fighter fleets to get some vehicles when we have another program right there in house that's about the same price to the corp as the F-35B.
You could also replace the USMC's F-35C buy with Super Hornets - that will save $50M per plane, or $4B for the 80. The -53s are a critical need - they don't need cutting.
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