Posted on 12/18/2010 8:00:05 PM PST by ErnstStavroBlofeld
Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program faces a $1 billion budget cut under a bill to finance government operations that’s advancing toward a Senate vote.
The move would strip out the JSF money, eliminating seven aircraft, from a U.S. Defense Department request for $7.86 billion and 42 planes, according to the spending measure, which didn’t give a rationale for the new totals.
Savings from the JSF program, the Pentagon’s biggest arms project, would be the most among $8.4 billion in weapons- spending reductions in the 1,924-page Senate bill released Dec. 14. Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed is the largest U.S. defense contractor by sales.
The measure’s $667.7 billion defense section also provides $450 million to keep developing General Electric Co.’s F-35 backup engine. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said the engine from primary supplier United Technologies Corp. is sufficient, and has vowed to advise President Barack Obama to veto any bill that funds the GE model.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessweek.com ...
Here's the rationale. We have a marxist president who is anxious to preside over this once-great nation's down fall.
They never think about perhaps cutting back on wasteful, ineffective liberal measures like PBS or turkey basters for lesbians, but national defense is always the first item on the block.
Why don’t we just NUKE ourselves and get this all over with.
Ping
We spend trillions on social programs that addict more and more of our people to government handouts and the public largess...and cut billions from our new technology and critical maintenance budget for the military to defend our freedom. They are working hard at our downfall from all sides.
Military projects are too often sacred cows that shall not be questioned. We paid tens of BILLIONS to develop it and then we have to pay $187 MILLION per copy. I agree we need ever more capable aircraft, but we cannot keep funding every sexy new idea that the military sees.
But we must extend unemployment benefits yet again. Yet we must keep pouring hundreds of billions to teachers unions pensions and campaign coffers - er I mean ‘for the children’...
From what I read, Lockheed has it coming. Building F-22’s that the aluminum wings corrode after 6 months. Cost over runs on the JSF have been unforgivable and borderline insane.
The only success for a single plane the performed in all three services was the F-4 and that was by neccessity and not design.
The last disaster for a 3n1 was the F-111 and the navy said forgitaboutit. Good ole Mcnamara and his Ford, Lincoln, Mercury approach.
Some people should do a little research before popping off.
Though DoD has presided over a major cluster fluck on things like AF tankers from the time of the lease program that didn’t make sense because it was crooked, F-22 endless delays, complicated systems procurement thinking they could design build and test on simulators and the ill fated multi-role JSF.
I HARDLY THINK THAT REPLACING OUR NUMEROUS COMBAT FATIGUED AIRFRAMES IS “EVERY SEXY NEW IDEA OUR MILITARY SEES”.
Just for your information, our F-15C models are about to fall apart, F-16 in many versions are now older than their pilots. The newest combat airframe the USAF has is the F-15E that was rushed to service for the First Gulf War back in 1990. Our T-38 advanced training aircraft are vintage late 1950s and have had countless airframe rebuilds.
If a person were even capable of having the opportunity to operate a high performance combat aircraft. I wonder how it would feel to him or her to know the airplane is mostly unsafe and has to be handled with kid gloves to keep from pulling the wings off?
We can piss away $24billions to bail out teacher’s unions for example but we can’t “afford” less than $400million for military raises or new airplanes?
Some people should do a little research before popping off.
Like I said, some people need to realize that military projects need to have a cost-benefit analysis like businesses who are spending their own money have to do. As it is, the military doesn’t even blink when they are told it will be $20 BILLION just to develop an aircraft. Look at the V-22; 25 years and BILLION$ in development, numerous crashes, under performance, over costs, and one crashed 8 days after the first deployment.
Also, we HAVE proven airframes and powerplants. We can build more F-16s and F-15s. Hell, we could build the F-20 that would fly circles around them both at half the cost and half the maintenance.
Have a nice day.
OK? bye
“the JSF program, the Pentagon’s biggest arms project”
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Well look Sequoyah, When you are the biggest project that tends to draw some fire. Like the old Japanese saying - “the nail that sticks up gets hammered down”.
I would cut many many government projects and possibly eliminate whole departments, before I would cut a great
program like the JSF. But the defense budget can’t just be left untouchable. That’s fantasy. It was only a matter of time before they came after the JSF. We will NEVER get the national debt under control if we don’t look at these programs. I know that people working in the defense industry want to believe that they are more important than the rest of us and that their jobs are “safe”, because it is a defense product, but they might find out soon that’s not the case. I have commented recently in one of Mr. Blofelds posts, that me thinks some of these defense
contractors are a bit bloated like their customer the US Government.
If they don’t like getting grief over cost overruns and bad management of the project, then they need to suck it up and remember who’s paying for this stuff. The Tea Party folks are serious about paying the debt down, and more power to them. If we have to buy fewer F-35s then that’s just what we have to do.
I can’t help myself. The F-15SE is a stopgap and better than nothing. Boeing offered it at about $50mm a copy and were refused. Now, Singapore, Saudi etc. are getting new Eagles with better engines and new airframes we don’t have.
The F-20 was a fine design but it is a little dated now.
One reason we have been able to dominate the battle field for the last 7 decades or so is that we controlled the airspace. You can’t do this without superior technology... the F-16 and F-15 won’t cut it very much longer both are nearly 40 year old designs.
Stupidity in acquisition is no reason to condemn new technology. As for cost to benefit, we tried a version of that... it was McNamara and his whiz kids that got us the cross service F-111. Supposedly at great cost benefit ration but it was a lousy airplane for the roles conceived but it made a great all weather bomber.
Well, we may agree that the deficit and debt should be whittled down and that DoD should be smarter in acquisitions and we may agree on a few other things.
However saving the empire from debt without being able to defend it is about as foolish as debt that can’t be paid.
Swinging a better deal or cutting a bunch of other crap might be a better idea. $8billion in earmarks might be a good place to start. The omnibus spending bill with a budget at the same level as last year with a TRILLION dollar deficit is another.
“However saving the empire from debt without being able to defend it is about as foolish as debt that can’t be paid”
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I agree. And.... I have complete confidence in the services to be as ready as they need to be with fewer F-35s.
And I don’t even though I think the F-35 is a pretty lousy airplane it will be made to work and will do OK as the A and C models but not so good as the VSTOL B model.
Too much has been asked form one airframe again.
” ... The last disaster for a 3n1 was the F-111 and the navy said forgitaboutit. Good ole Mcnamara and his Ford, Lincoln, Mercury approach. ... “
Ouch! I owned a Crown Vic before I bought my Grand Marquee!
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