A stunning admission about the F-35 from the outgoing Air Force Acquisition Chief...

 Thanks to StarShipDirect for the link!

I always wonder WTF is going on in the background when I start seeing Military Twitter getting slammed with glamour shots (above) of the F-35.  StarShipDirect gave me the answer with this article from Breaking Defense.

 The F-35 fighter jet’s exorbitant life-cycle costs means the Air Force cannot afford to buy as many aircraft as it needs to fight and win a war today, which makes the Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program all the more important, says outgoing Air Force acquisition czar Will Roper.

“I think the F-35 program is a long way from being at a sustainment point that we need. I think it’s a long way from being an affordable fighter that we can buy in bulk,” he told reporters today.

“That’s the reason why Next-Generation Air Dominance is so important to the Air Force,” he said. “It doesn’t just represent a next-generation fighter with bells and whistles that we will need in warfighting. It doesn’t just represent a completely different acquisition paradigm. It also represents a chance to design an airplane that is more sustainable than the F-35 if, in fact, the F-35 cannot get its cost-per-flying-hour down.”

Roper would not be drawn on whether the Air Force was considering downsizing it plan to build a total inventory of 1,763 F-35s — with the Air Force requesting 48 aircraft in 2021, and planning to ask for the same annual buy for the foreseeable future, according to a study last month by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “But what I can say is we’re not at the sustainment price point we need to be for a very large fleet. So, the next few years are critical for the F 35 program,” he added.

Here 

How many years has this airplane been at a critical point?  Bets were made on this airplane and the USMC wrecked itself to buy it, but the truth is the truth.

Hate them if you must but the bubbas from Air Power Australia were RIGHT!

Isn't it terrible that people that are clued into the truth early are always slammed by the masses and once that truth becomes widely known their shouts are quickly forgotten?

I'm not even worried about US airpower.

We'll simply print more money and build a new plane.

Our allies however are screwed.  That's a shame. I hope they all have a plan B, cause the F-35 was a terrible plan A.