[Pukin Dog]

A loaded SuperHornet couldnt break Mach 1 if you strapped a Mach 5 Phoenix to it and fired the rocket.

The SuperHornet is a jobs program, not a weapons program.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

The Navy is going ahead with plans for KF-18 and EF-18 variants. If I were in the White House, I'd be taking a long hard look at the people I have in the Pentagon, who are stupid enough to take an eleborate Boeing sales pitch at face value while dismissing any naysayers as "not being team players".

This is a classic example of what happens when you have management that was educated in business school. They think they can apply the latest Deming-style management fad to aerospace engineering and they won't listen to anybody who says something won't work. It's not always bad to think outside the box (apologies for the cliche), but there needs to be some basis in reality.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

I've been attending SAE's Aerospace Landing Gear conference this week. The latest word is that the Super Hornet, in addition to its other horrendous problems, are having major wheel & brake issues including numerous brake fires. It's pretty late in the program to be having these kinds of issues.

I've also talked to several individuals privately who have told me that NAVAIR is positively stoned to think that the Super Hornet can fly the Tomcat's fleet defense missions, as well as be effective in electronic warfare and refueling missions. The Super Hornet has major unsolved aerodynamic issues and is the slowest fighter programmed since the early 1960's.