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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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To: rdcbn1

Thanks for some additional info.


41 posted on 02/10/2025 8:53:32 AM PST by Fury
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To: hardspunned

A plane that had to be everything to everybody? Isn’t that what made the F-111 a failure? It’s not like this mistake has never been made before. The government was just not paying off the media as much before.


42 posted on 02/10/2025 8:55:46 AM PST by Cincinnatus.45-70 (What do DemocRats enjoy more than a truckload of dead babies? Unloading them with a pitchfork!)
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To: hardspunned

1)Totally disagree here. It is the projected cost until 2040 and it is from Sputnik. Stealth works and Elon is flat wrong on this. It has been making some of the money back from taxing jets we sold to other countries. We have had problems with a lot of other jets too. This isn’t unique 2) I am defending the practicality and ability, not the total price. Lockheed probably overcharged.


43 posted on 02/10/2025 8:56:05 AM PST by clutzyfuzzy
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To: AnotherUnixGeek
"I don’t pretend to know much of anything about military matters, but just as a matter of common sense, it seems like thousands upon thousands of cheap, fast, highly maneuverable drones are going to be a better bet than a few hundred extremely expensive airplanes that require highly skilled pilots on-board."

With that train of thought, if you're not careful, you're going to invent the missile!

44 posted on 02/10/2025 9:01:15 AM PST by The Duke (Not without incident.)
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To: daniel1212

https://www.19fortyfive.com/2024/12/israels-f-15ex-eagle-ii-fighter-dilemma/


45 posted on 02/10/2025 9:04:53 AM PST by jjotto ( Blessed are You LORD, who crushes enemies and subdues the wicked.)
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To: DesertRhino

So the Marine Corps had to bring back the Harrier now?


46 posted on 02/10/2025 9:05:59 AM PST by Salvavida (NS)
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To: hardspunned

Judging by the war in Ukraine it would seem cheap drones, grenades, and chicken wire are the new weapons of the future.

I had some colleagues get hire on to that project and have collected great paychecks doing nothing.


47 posted on 02/10/2025 9:06:54 AM PST by Organic Panic (Democrats. Memories as short as Joe Biden's eyes)
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To: DesertRhino

So the Marine Corps has to bring back the Harrier now?


48 posted on 02/10/2025 9:10:54 AM PST by Salvavida (NS)
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To: Alas Babylon!
And the C-5s are also still in use to this day.

IIRC, it saved Israel's butt in the Yom Kippur War delivering M1 tanks to the battlefield.

49 posted on 02/10/2025 9:17:37 AM PST by Carry_Okie (The tree of liberty needs a rope.)
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To: hardspunned

When are drone ships and drone drone carriers, if you will, going to be viable?


50 posted on 02/10/2025 9:19:51 AM PST by 9YearLurker
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To: desertsolitaire
The F-22 tooling is mostly still around.

The basic F-22 design is 1970s and 1980s technology and the YF-22 first flew in 1990.

So much has changed that it's better to start with a clean sheet design.

If fact, the biggest limitation of the F-35 and the one that designers are struggling with is that the current hardware and form factor of the F-35 airframe is having a hard time keeping up with the vision of what a 2040s F-35 objective system development path is going to look like.

The F-22 is a great airplane but is after it's current suite of upgrades it's likley end of it's cost effective retrofitable development potential.

51 posted on 02/10/2025 9:22:19 AM PST by rdcbn1 (TV )
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To: hardspunned; All

Current price is $85MIL each for F-35A.

And it’s the BEST strike fighter in the world today, bar none.

The price of the new F-15EX is $95 mil and it has no stealth.

Musk wants to develop and build aerial combat drones for the US, a good idea once he proves a model.


52 posted on 02/10/2025 9:24:58 AM PST by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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To: hardspunned

“And manned fighter jets are obsolete in the age of drones anyway. Will just get pilots killed.”

The wars of attrition will be fought on the front lines by drones. This will force the strategic use of EMPs. This will result in fallback plans using old, analog tech.

But the front lines will eventually be on the ultimate high ground of outer space... or at least low earth orbit.


53 posted on 02/10/2025 9:26:51 AM PST by unlearner (Still not tired of winning.)
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To: hardspunned

Boeing’s been attacking the F-35 ever since it was picked over the F-32 Monica.


54 posted on 02/10/2025 9:29:13 AM PST by PAR35
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To: spokeshave

“Obama had the tooling jigs scrapped”

Obama had the jig scrapped. …Quietly walking away…..


55 posted on 02/10/2025 9:40:10 AM PST by DesertRhino (2016 Star Wars, 2020 The Empire Strikes Back, 2025... RETURN OF THE JEDI...)
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To: Carriage Hill

yes but there is no way to make new ones all plans, tools, & production lines are gone


56 posted on 02/10/2025 9:50:43 AM PST by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now its your turn)
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To: hardspunned

*** It’s the only thing keeping the Soviets at bay.***

It’s Nazis now, evidently Nazis are the global threat to the West and America and mother Russia.


57 posted on 02/10/2025 9:50:47 AM PST by ansel12 ((NATO warrior under Reagan, and RA under Nixon, bemoaning the pro-Russians from Vietnam to Ukraine.))
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To: bankwalker

He roots for Russia when given the chance and may not even be an American


58 posted on 02/10/2025 9:51:49 AM PST by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now its your turn)
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To: hardspunned

Check out the capabilities of the S500.


🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣


59 posted on 02/10/2025 9:52:24 AM PST by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now its your turn)
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To: MinorityRepublican

it’s not going to be able to defend itself against 100 drones.


Jamming pods and EW pods will handle all of them


60 posted on 02/10/2025 9:54:00 AM PST by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now its your turn)
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