The following quote is lifted directly from an article on today's Bloomberg web-site.
The F-35 Lightning II. Lockheed-Martin Corp. (LMT)’s next- generation fighter plane is a wonder of versatility, but the current generation (the ubiquitous F-16, among others) is still vastly superior to the competition -- only one American fighter jet has been shot down by enemy fire in the past 40 years. The Simpson-Bowles deficit-reduction commission advocated eliminating the Marine Corps version of the F-35 and trimming by half the number going to the Navy and Air Force, for a savings of $30 billion over the next four years. We find that too timid: The entire $385 billion program should be on the chopping block.
-- The Ford-class supercarrier. At a time when the Navy is questioning whether it needs (or can afford) all 11 carrier groups it has, why would it want to spend $120 billion on 10 new carriers that offer few significant improvements over the current Nimitz class? (Especially given that the signal upgrade, a new electromagnetic catapult system, is designed in part to launch the equally unnecessary F-35.) Carriers are big, easy targets in an era defined by asymmetric warfare, and are vulnerable to vastly improved anti-ship weapons. When China launched its first aircraft carrier in August, a State Department spokesman said the U.S. “would welcome any kind of explanation that China would like to give for needing this kind of equipment.” We would welcome the same from the U.S. Navy.
Interesting pespective!