Posted on 10/24/2015 7:46:36 AM PDT by McGruff
Donald Trump boasts, Im the most militaristic person there is, and that hed build a military force so robust no one is going to mess with the U.S. Yet at his core, Trump is a businessman. So when the Republican presidential frontrunner looks at the Defense Departments multi-billion dollar F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, he sees a lousy deal.
During an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, the real estate mogul said he has received briefings on the fighter jet effort and that it has big problems.
Im hearing that our existing planes are better. And one of the pilots came out of the plane, one of the test pilots, and said this isnt as good as what we already have. And to spend billions and billions of dollars on something that maybe isnt as good, Trump said. He was referring to a recent five-page report written by a test pilot and obtained by War is Boring that said the fifth-generation aircraft was easily outmatched by the F-16 fighter, which the F-35 is meant to replace.
(Excerpt) Read more at thefiscaltimes.com ...
Finally, someone is noticing the elephant in the room.
Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump 1 hour ago Doral, FL
Leaving for Jacksonville now. See you there! Miami was great.
Lots of us have been saying that for years.
And no F-16V for the USAF ... just one plane to do everything for everybody for every mission ...
Though more "expensive", we NEED the F-22.
“. . . we NEED the F-22.”
Amen! Our war strategy is not based on general control of the airspace, it is based on 100% control. 90% control will only be good enough to get a lot of Americans killed and wreck all the Pentagon’s nice sensitive plans and rules of engagement.
Oldplayer
Good. The F-35 is a jack of all trades, and master of none.
Three distinct aircraft each optimized for its role, would ultimately be cheaper, more effective and keep more of our aviators alive.
Aircraft Carriers, Manned Refueling Planes, Manned Bombers, Manned Fighters, and Manned Drones are obsolete, we just haven’t come to the collective realization.
Hopefully Trump will have people that come to this conclusion, we need dedicated AI drone carriers on the ocean, in the air, and maybe even in space.
The F-51 and the P-38 could give ISIS a night of shiite fits.
Is it true that the tooling for the F-22 Raptor was ordered to be destroyed by the Obama Administration?
BTW, have a great time in JAX.
Look across the river and wave to the two towers of the Prudential building—that was my project 30 years ago.
Other than its a money pit like the 330 million dollar Colorado VA hospital now in its 10th year of construction and current 1.8+ billion dollar cost? Trump would roll heads.
Wonder how much they cost in comparison.
“we NEED the F-22.”
Here s an article which explains why we must design and build another new aircraft, and we are not going to be able to purchase anymore F-22 Raptor aircraft:
How quickly could Lockheed “roll out” another F-22 Raptor?
If a destructive war broke out, and the US Air Force absolutely had to have more F-22s as soon as possible (pre-emptive strike, war of attrition, etc), how soon could they get a new one? In essence, how long would it take to retool a factory, train workers, acquire materials, and build an airplane?
[....]
Colonel John Boyd — great American!
I think that's an oxymoron.
. . . we NEED the F-22.
[Amen! Our war strategy is not based on general control of the airspace, it is based on 100% control. ]
With 100% control of airspace, you can then afford to fly cheap ground pounder planes like the A10 and anything else for that matter, including F16s and F15s. Heck, you could even take planes out of mothball.
The key is to get the most bang for the buck, not have some gilded one size fits all tech marvel.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.