F-35 Fighter Has Failed to Meet ‘Annual Mission-Capable Goal’ 6 Years Straight

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In my experience every weapon system is over budget, behind schedule and fails to meet requirements. But the money flows.

And the MIC is happy, happy, happy.

I’m more interested in knowing who was the TOTAL IDIOT that thought it was possible to build a fighter that is optimal for carrier and land-based operations.

Q’s: is it the manufacturer not making a plane that meet the goals or are the goals too ambitious that they made the best plane that they could make to meet the goal? I did not follow the procurement process so if it did not meet goals how did it pass the evaluation stage? Did the government do the two step of its close and we will build it better later that did not happen?
If it does not meet the goals is it still a better plane than any one else has or can make now and for the next ten years?

Someone thought we could build one plane that was:
1. Air Superiority Fighter
2. Light Bomber
3. Air Defense Fighter
4. Close Air Support Aircraft

Guess what? It does none of those things better than our current aircraft designed for that mission. I have been saying for years that the F-35 is one of the biggest mistakes the US Military has ever made.

How can a fighter that costs $2 trillion not me its performance goals? That is BS.

The USAF fighter pilots tell me that the F-16 is superior to the F-35 in a dogfight, but the F-35 can destroy the F-16 before it knows it's in a dogfight.

Go ask ALL the retired GO’s that work/worked for Lockheed who MADE THAT DESISION!!!!

The F-35 always was a “MIC Welfare Program” from the start.

That idiot started with McNamara. His disciples pervade acquisition and project management bureaucracy throughout the government. Half the flag officers in the Pentagon are trained in his methods.

It’s killing us. The Chinese are way ahead of us on innovation cycle speed. SPACEX succeeds because Musk threw all of that bureaucratic garbage out and focuses from star to finish on making great products with great technology that actually works.

How can a fighter that costs $2 trillion not me its performance goals? That is BS. Where is Trump on this?

When I worked aircraft maintenance 50 years ago the problem was having the parts available to fix the planes. Apparently, it still is.

A lot of the problems can be traced back to the government with changing standards and requirements. I’ve seen where we had all the paperwork filed but before approval the additional requirements were added so we had to go back, fix/test it and then resubmit all the paperwork.

The USAF fighter pilots tell me that the F-16 is superior to the F-35 in a dogfight, but the F-35 can destroy the F-16 before it knows it's in a dogfight.

Stealth plus sensor electronics. It is more reasonable for aircraft designed for different missions to share computing platforms than it is to expect them to be mechanically cross-functional.

Corruption is at the root of this, I guarantee it.

Lot of money to be made on both sides (Gov and Ctr) in contracting something like this.

Goals? They are built to meet requirements which is a library of specifications inherited the past most of high is irrelevant. But it is the stuff of which acquisition bureaucracy is built.

I seriously doubt the headline is true. The mission of the F-35 is to maximize the profit margin of Lockheed Martin, and I’m fairly certain that in that regard, it’s had a much higher mission success rate than any previous fighter design.

This is true.

I would take a hard look at the motivations for the change.

A change like this buys schedule, quite a valuable thing.

Also adds to the pile of money. Increases complexity. All valuable for obfuscation.

But hey, maybe some threat did emerge at the last minute that needs mitigation.

The opportunity for corruption is wide and deep.

“The USAF fighter pilots tell me that the F-16 is superior to the F-35 in a dogfight, but the F-35 can destroy the F-16 before it knows it’s in a dogfight.”

That’s what the MIC wants you to think, but that’s because they put radar upgrades into the F-35 and not the F-16. Little secret for ya: Both the F-22 and F-35 can see each other at over 20 miles. That’s plenty for missiles.

The F-18 is actually by far the best overall fighter/bomber.

“Musk threw all of that bureaucratic garbage out and focuses from star to finish on making great products with great technology that actually works.”

They also understood the value of VERTICAL INTEGRATION. Relying on subcontractors, these days, and arguably for all time, it is ALWAYS better to do things in house (ok, maybe not try to produce high-density semiconductors, but just about everything else is doable). I once read that the huge Ford Dearborn plant had 4 three inputs: Iron Ore, Coal, Rubber, and Sand, and one output - the Model T. Maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but the point is made.