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Pentagon’s big budget F-35 fighter ‘can’t turn, can’t climb, can’t run’
Reuters ^ | July 14, 2014 | David Axe

Posted on 07/15/2014 9:06:15 PM PDT by Rabin

The U.S. military has grounded all its new F-35 Joint Strike Fighters following an incident on June 23, when one of the high-tech warplanes caught fire on the runway of a Florida air base. The no-fly order — which affects at least 50 F-35s at training and test bases in Florida, Arizona, California and Maryland.

F-35 is on track to become by far the military’s most numerous warplane. It was designed to replace almost all current fighters in the Air Force and Marine Corps and complement the Navy’s existing F/A-18s.

(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.reuters.com ...


TOPICS: Heated Discussion
KEYWORDS: boondoggle; f35; fighter; jointstrike; pos; wasteofmoney
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Chicken Little Alert.

R.

1 posted on 07/15/2014 9:06:15 PM PDT by Rabin
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To: Rabin

Something has to be wrong with this picture, I mean they already have a truly superior manned fighter in the F22... What the hell are they doing?


2 posted on 07/15/2014 9:08:09 PM PDT by aardwolf46
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To: aardwolf46

Redistributing the wealth. Follow the funding for proof.


3 posted on 07/15/2014 9:09:20 PM PDT by Norm Lenhart (How's that 'lesser evil' workin' out for ya?)
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To: Rabin

Chicken Little Alert


Yeah, it is.

The JSF meets it’s performance bogeys as spelled out in the JSF specifications.
Those specifications do not reflect an aircraft that ‘can’t turn, can’t climb, can’t run’

The F-35 does exactly what it was intended to do and does it well.


4 posted on 07/15/2014 9:14:28 PM PDT by rdcbn
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To: aardwolf46

Reminds me of the time old Adoph tried to turn the Me 262, a bomber killing jet fighter into a fighter bomber—it was not designed for. They tried to make the F-35 a one of a kind—do all ship. Better to buy the Su—35 from Russia.


5 posted on 07/15/2014 9:17:09 PM PDT by Forward the Light Brigade (Into the Jaws of H*onward! Ride to the sound of the guns!)
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To: Rabin

Pratt & Whitney should be fired.


6 posted on 07/15/2014 9:17:21 PM PDT by smokingfrog ( sleep with one eye open (<o> ---)
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To: Rabin

I guess they shouldn’t have canceled the F-22.


7 posted on 07/15/2014 9:20:33 PM PDT by OneWingedShark (Q: Why am I here? A: To do Justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with my God.)
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To: aardwolf46
Something has to be wrong with this picture, I mean they already have a truly superior manned fighter in the F22... What the hell are they doing?

The slightly conspiracy-theory-ish reasoning I ascribe it to is that the F-22 was too good at its role: air superiority.
A crap-basket like the F-35, designed to do everything (and therefore not capable of excelling in any particular role), on the other hand would always require more investment to "make it better". — IOW, the support on the F-35 would be guaranteed if any number of them are put in service.

Compare and contrast with the M-16 and how much has been spent on "improving" it.

8 posted on 07/15/2014 9:24:40 PM PDT by OneWingedShark (Q: Why am I here? A: To do Justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with my God.)
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To: Rabin

It underperforms in every fighter measure compared to our current fighter, and in every potential adversary. Its obese, suffers from low thrust, and high wing loads.

Even its defenders don’t pretend its a dog fighting hot rod. They simply point out that its electronics and fire control, and integration make dogfighting pointless.
Essentially claiming that those things will always win in any air combat encounter.

But if that was the case, a B-2 with the same missiles could defeat any enemy force.

Facts are stubborn things, it cannot outrun, outclimb, or out turn a Suhkoi, an F-15, an F-16, or an F-15.


9 posted on 07/15/2014 9:32:37 PM PDT by DesertRhino (I was standing with a rifle, waiting for soviet paratroopers, but communists just ran for office.)
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To: DesertRhino

“Facts are stubborn things, it cannot outrun, outclimb, or out turn a Suhkoi, an F-15, an F-16, or an F-15.”

Just wondering - do you mean F 14 or F 18? You used F 15 twice.


10 posted on 07/15/2014 9:38:32 PM PDT by MichaelCorleone (Jesus Christ is not a religion. He's the Truth.)
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To: Rabin

I’ve got an old book on my shelves explaining why the F-15 should be cancelled along with the F-16. I keep it to remember how full of dog poop many of these writers are.


11 posted on 07/15/2014 9:41:02 PM PDT by Mr Rogers
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To: MichaelCorleone

I meant 14. I was ticking off the Islamic Air Forces. Turkey, Paki, Saudi, Egypt, etc,,, many very bad people fly our machines.
Don’t know of any enemies we sold 18s to, but who knows?


12 posted on 07/15/2014 9:41:47 PM PDT by DesertRhino (I was standing with a rifle, waiting for soviet paratroopers, but communists just ran for office.)
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To: MichaelCorleone

Anything can outrun an F-18. They are horribly slow.


13 posted on 07/15/2014 9:41:51 PM PDT by USNBandit (sarcasm engaged at all times)
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To: DesertRhino

Do Kuwait and Malaysia count as possible enemies?


14 posted on 07/15/2014 9:43:47 PM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
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To: aardwolf46

The F-22 is pretty much exclusively an air-superiority fighter. High and fast. The F-35 is *supposed* to do the rest of the roles, the ones the F-22 isn’t good at, like CAS, carrier, fighter-bomber, etc.


15 posted on 07/15/2014 9:44:46 PM PDT by Little Pig
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To: MichaelCorleone
You used F 15 twice.

He likes F 15s.

16 posted on 07/15/2014 9:55:47 PM PDT by Jeff Chandler (Conservatism is the political disposition of grown-ups.)
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To: rdcbn

And what is that intention specifically? Sit on the runway and catch fire?

This thing is going to be the biggest boondoggle for our troops since the French tried to build a machine gun.

I know what you are saying is correct but I cannot help but wonder although one of these things will be able to out fight 5 Chink fighters, will it be able to out fight 100?


17 posted on 07/15/2014 10:04:12 PM PDT by biff (WAS)
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To: GeronL

Are they islamic?


18 posted on 07/15/2014 10:40:49 PM PDT by Axenolith (Government blows, and that which governs least, blows least...)
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To: Axenolith

You are asking if Kuwait is Islamic? Malaysia is 61-62% Islamic. The crescent is on their flag.


19 posted on 07/15/2014 10:46:15 PM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
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To: Mr Rogers

I’ve got an old book on my shelves explaining why the F-15 should be cancelled along with the F-16. I keep it to remember how full of dog poop many of these writers are.


I think I may have the same book from the 70’s. It also devotes 3 chapters to just how much of a piece of s**t and waste of money the A-10 was and why it too should be cancelled.

In retrospect the F-15, F16 and A-10 were the three best combat aircraft investments the United States has ever made. A reasonably strong argument could be made to to put an updated A-10 back into production if we didn’t already have so many in storage. New wings are in production by Boeing for the A-10 to keep it flying until 2040

FWIW, the comparative specs on the A-10, F-35 and FA-18 are

A-10 F-35 FA-18 Super Hornet

Empty Weight (lb) 25,000 29,300 32,100

Weapons Load (lb) 16000 18000 17,5000

Max Weight (lb) 50,000 70,000 66,000

Max speed 450 its M 1.6+ M 1.8


20 posted on 07/15/2014 10:47:44 PM PDT by rdcbn
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