Spaz,
Great link and thank you. I'd suggest that anyone following that link also looks at the short video segment with Frank Kendall on the acquisition strategy and problems they have had with the programme.
I've said this before, but this clip underlines my point. The F-35 programme is being carried out with a level of visibility and disclosure that is, in my experience, unprecedented anywhere. I would be surprised if the MoD allowed a UK military procurement programme to be examined in this amount of detail. Too often, in my direct experience, 'security' is used by the MoD to avoid embarrassment and justified criticism by the taxpayers.
Moreover, Kendall's quite accurate description of 'fads' in acquisition, and the problems with the idea that 'more should be left to the contractor' should be made required viewing (preferably with their heads strapped into a seat so they can't look away, and yes, with their eyelids clamped open) for all MoD procurement managers.
This level of information is, at least in my view, a good thing. Yes, it will feed the programme's critics. That's fine. More importantly, it gives those paying for it all (the taxpayers) a better idea of where their dollars are going and why.
Best regards as ever to all those doing the job for real
Engines