Hi
Gums, just some thoughts on a couple of points you raise
Originally Posted by
gums
....... He's talking about "cost effective". What you need to be looking for is "combat effective". I have to remind him that in actual combat, there ain't no points for second place. ......
While your comment re 2nd place is agreed 100%, in my experience, "cost effective" includes "combat effectiveness" - or should do!!!! Since the early 2000's here in the UK, it's been very much a case of how cheaply can we deliver a given "punch to the enemy". For example, the UK went down the Integrated Operational Support (IOS) route starting in the 2000's starting with SKIOS and then on into IMOS, Apache IOS, ATTAC and TyTAN (covering Sea King, Merlin, Apache, Tornado and Typhoon) - all with the stated aim of maintaining OC but with significantly reduced support costs. The "bait" was that the savings accruing would, according to "The Master Plan", then be ploughed back into new OC. I don't know how successful that concept has been - the "Master Plan" bit!
...... The A model seems to be doing well, and I am not clear as to where the logistics line has broken down. ............ I flew the Sluf and Viper in their early years and logisitcs problems were apparent. They were solved and both planes went on to do well in combat and otherwise........
Again, good points. However, one could argue that we, certainly in the UK, no longer have the "fat" to cover these ramp-ups and the formal Assumption today seems to be that a platform will reach maturity far more quickly with far fewer issues. By way of example, say in the early 1980's, the UK had 7 fast jet front line Fleets with, approx, 37 Sqdns (there being a lot of change-overs in the late 70's/early 80's it's tricky to count but 37 is what I came up with inc RAF and FAA). Today we have 2 such fleets in 8 Sqdns. Why I believe this is important is that, when a new Fleet is introduced, a greater %age of capability is "turned over" so, when there are teething problems, it has a greater impact on the overall Force OC - more-so where the A/C provides capabilities which were traditionally looked after by, say, ELINT and AWACS fleets - I've not factored that in to my Sqdn/Fleet count!
Re the logistic chain issues, I believe much is to do with problems with ALIS as well as the more traditional Supply Chain glitches. "ALIS integrates a broad range of capabilities including operations,
maintenance, prognostics, supply chain, customer support services, training and
technical data." (my underline) according to LM. If that is not doing what it should do, that will drive maintenance delays/costs up, particularly if your Assumptions (yep, them again!) are based on that system working perfectly from Day 1 (yep, I know, I know.....!!). Sometimes, the Mil believe the Manufacturers "promises" too literally........... I'm not connected with the F35 today (just a bit of JSF work back in the late '90's) - my last Mil involvement was with Typhoon a couple of years back - so I only have the Press/gossip to work with!
Anyway, just some thoughts to ponder. I guess we all just hope that, for the boys and girls using the kit on the Front Line, it all comes good. After all, a sack full of "Capability" is no good sat on the ground waiting for a small "Widget"!
