Pentagon to test F-35 against A-10 in 'common sense' war scenario showdown

[Ford_Prefect]

38. The F-35 is only about the money at this point. An A-4 Skyhawk could fly rings around it.

Take that both ways:
a. We've spent so much to develop it that they cannot let it go without making a plane that works. There are simply too many senior ranks at stake and too many contracts for them to allow it to fail. The financial and prestige fallout over this would be stunning. This is the V-22 Osprey project times 100.

b. When it goes to production the amount of money delivered to the builder, subcontractors, and supporting industries and services will be an enormous wave of cash setting a new plateau for weapons costs and investment.

They have so compromised the design that it cannot achieve the most basic assignments required. The multiple computerized attack and control systems that are supposed to let it stand off at a safe distance from any attacking aircraft don't work yet. The radar systems that let it target and also fly in darkness and foul weather don't perform correctly when it rains. The exotic helmet system that is intended to enhance targeting and control of the plane barely fits within the confines of the cockpit and has had numerous difficulties related to computer code that simply doesn't work or allow the various systems to coordinate well after years of development. The plane is so overweight and so large that it caused major problems for maneuvering the aircraft in flight.

Not least of all: there have been significant advances in using various radar frequencies to help identify planes based on the version of "stealth" technology the F-35 is built around and depends upon. The current estimate is that by the time significant numbers of the plane are in the field it will be nearly obsolete as a Stealth platform which is the primary purpose for which it was built.

In the past when there have been similar attempts to make one platform accomplish all major tasks the results were the kind of woeful train wreck we have seen with the F-35. When Pigs Fly has taken on a whole new meaning with this one.

The principle irony in this contest is that it will be used to justify eliminating the A-10. At this point in time there are numerous customer nations standing in line to buy all the surplus A-10 aircraft and spare parts they can get. The A-10 has been one of the most successful military weapons platforms ever built. Nothing else comes close to its performance versus cost. The irony of its demise is that it will be removed from service only because the powers behind the F-35 need to pay for it by eliminating other aircraft like the A-10. They also need to remove competing aircraft from the roles the F-35 is due to take up.