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F-35: BIGGEST WASTE OF MONEY EVER $2 trillion spent — the highest price tag ever for a defence item, and the F-35 is still a disaster wrapped in stealth.
X ^ | 2/10/25 | Sputnik

Posted on 02/10/2025 7:39:58 AM PST by hardspunned

Elon Musk @elonmusk The F-35 design was broken at the requirements level, because it was required to be too many things to too many people. This made it an expensive & complex jack of all trades, master of none. Success was never in the set of possible outcomes. And manned fighter jets are obsolete in the age of drones anyway. Will just get pilots killed.

The US Air Force Secretary admitted in April 2024 that fewer than a third of F-35s built by Lockheed Martin are actually operational.

Ex-US Congressman Matt Gaetz labels the F-35 as a "$100M paperweight", pointing out its low effectiveness and return on investment.

(Excerpt) Read more at x.com ...


TOPICS: Military/Veterans
KEYWORDS: f22; f35; fighterjet; lockheed; soviets
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“According to recent reports from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the projected maintenance cost for the F-35 fighter jet is now estimated to exceed $1.5 trillion”

How many hundreds of billions will be skimmed by the MIC oligarchs who will be doing most of the maintenance?

Don’t let Elon near this vital weapon system. It’s the only thing keeping the Soviets at bay.

1 posted on 02/10/2025 7:39:58 AM PST by hardspunned
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To: hardspunned

If the flying Moon pig is the only thing between us and the erstwhile Soviet union, we were screwed anyway.


2 posted on 02/10/2025 7:41:12 AM PST by DesertRhino (2016 Star Wars, 2020 The Empire Strikes Back, 2025... RETURN OF THE JEDI...)
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To: hardspunned

Isn’t the F-22 Raptor a better plane?


3 posted on 02/10/2025 7:43:06 AM PST by Carriage Hill (A society grows great when old men plant trees, in whose shade they know they will never sit.)
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To: hardspunned

I spent a career in defense. The problem with every system is once it’s funded everyone jumps on it to convert it to the thing “they” need.


4 posted on 02/10/2025 7:44:52 AM PST by Gen.Blather (Wait! I said that out loud? )
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To: hardspunned

Soviets? Where have you been?


5 posted on 02/10/2025 7:45:31 AM PST by bankwalker (Repeal the 19th ...)
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To: Carriage Hill

I’m pretty sure when fighting the Russians or Chinese, both will be shown to be obsolete. Check out the capabilities of the S500.


6 posted on 02/10/2025 7:46:20 AM PST by hardspunned (Look for the“Putin Stooge” libel, news from Ukraine you’ve gradually grown to trust over 30 months )
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To: DesertRhino

That’s a toughie. I’m old enough to remember the C5A boondoggle, a 747 sized cargo plane whose only advantage was the ability to open the front end to empty it’s cargo. Came in handy during the 1973 Yom Kipper war but that’s about it. The ‘whistleblower’ named Fitzgerald was transferred to a base in Thailand managing bowling alleys.

Something’s going on.


7 posted on 02/10/2025 7:46:42 AM PST by DIRTYSECRET
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To: Carriage Hill

Isn’t that the one that we cant make more of w/o starting from scratch because Obama had the tooling/dies/blueprints etc. all destroyed?


8 posted on 02/10/2025 7:47:19 AM PST by desertsolitaire ( Lee Harvey Oswald and the Bands final performance)
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To: hardspunned

Agree. One of the worst platforms ever.


9 posted on 02/10/2025 7:49:14 AM PST by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped)
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To: Gen.Blather

“everyone jumps on it to convert it to the thing “they” need.”

And that’s exactly what has happened to this platform.....every military branch that uses it has modified it to fit their needs.


10 posted on 02/10/2025 7:49:23 AM PST by V_TWIN (America...so great even the people that hate it refuse to leave!ly)
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To: Carriage Hill

Yes, the F22 is stellar.


11 posted on 02/10/2025 7:49:52 AM PST by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped)
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To: Carriage Hill

A much, much better aircraft. Absolutely fantastic fighter.


12 posted on 02/10/2025 7:52:46 AM PST by AnglePark (My opinion is the most worthless thing I own.)
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To: DesertRhino
---- "...we were screwed anyway."

$36.5 trillion in national debt, trillions more in consumer debt and student debt, trillions in state-level debt, county debt, municipal debt. alongside the delightful news from the USAID and Treasury scandals that the government has been spending on all sorts of fraudulent things. So, yeah.

---- "...we were screwed anyway."

13 posted on 02/10/2025 7:56:08 AM PST by Worldtraveler once upon a time (Degrow government)
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To: hardspunned

Why do we even need it? We won’t be fighting any NATO countries and we’ve all been told that Russia and China make sub standard aircraft.


14 posted on 02/10/2025 7:56:30 AM PST by CodeJockey (ATCG (whatever that means))
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To: hardspunned

https://www.defensenews.com/smr/hidden-troubles-f35/


15 posted on 02/10/2025 7:57:37 AM PST by Brian Griffin
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To: DIRTYSECRET
I’m old enough to remember the C5A boondoggle, a 747 sized cargo plane whose only advantage was the ability to open the front end to empty it’s cargo.

It could also take off and land on dirt. No small thing there for a military transport plane.

16 posted on 02/10/2025 7:58:55 AM PST by Carry_Okie (The tree of liberty needs a rope.)
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To: Carriage Hill
Isn’t the F-22 Raptor a better plane?

Yes ....but Obama had the tooling jigs scrapped

Maybe Elon Musk can reverse engineer a new set of tools to make some more

and smaller ones to act as drones.

17 posted on 02/10/2025 7:59:56 AM PST by spokeshave (Proud Boys, Angry Dads. Grumpy Grandads & Curmudgeons)
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To: bankwalker

I’ve been listening to why I’ve been told we’ve sunk $200 billion into the Uke pit. Where have YOU been? Didn’t you know 2/24/22 was the opening operation for Vlad’s revanchist Soviet Union? Don’t you know that only Winston Z saved us from the Red Menace? No? Go back to 2/24/22 start reading the thousands and thousands of disinfo pieces posted here slinging that BS.


18 posted on 02/10/2025 8:01:53 AM PST by hardspunned (Look for the“Putin Stooge” libel, news from Ukraine you’ve gradually grown to trust over 30 months )
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To: hardspunned

“And manned fighter jets are obsolete in the age of drones anyway.”

Manned fighter jets are going to be with us for a long time.


19 posted on 02/10/2025 8:07:22 AM PST by JSM_Liberty
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To: bankwalker
Soviets? Where have you been?

Pretty sure he's joking. Obviously the real threat are the Moon Nazis. That's what they are really protecting us from.

20 posted on 02/10/2025 8:07:26 AM PST by EnderWiggin1970
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