Originally Posted by Snafu351
GK121
How much has been spent to date on the X47?
How much has been spent to date on the F35?
How many times has the X47 been presented as the only, all fulfilling, solution?
Your summary of the opposition to the F35, such as it is, is overly simplistic and self serving given your clear liking for the beasty.
OK, lets be clear here.
1. I don't know, I haven't seen that info.
2. A lot more, but that is because the
F-35 is a nearly-complete program which has created a highly-sophisticated combat aircraft.
The
X-47 is still just a technology demonstrator - it is at exactly the same stage of development as the
X-35 was in ~2002 (hint - X = experimental aircraft to test and develop technologies, F = developed combat aircraft).
3. Far too many times, mainly by people who don't know what they are talking about - and that statement does not match up with reality.
The
X-47 has NO combat capability in its current form, to catch up with the
F-35 it will need a major redesign to add combat capability to the airframe, which will cost a lot more than what has been spent to date.
There are a lot of other possible solutions for a combat UCAV to operate from carriers, depending on desired range/payload/capability, as demonstrated by the disagreement between the USN and Congress over the desired capabilities of the
Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (
UCLASS) program.
The USN wants a low-combat recon platform (with strike capabilities similar to current UCAVs, with the addition of A-A missiles to be controlled by F/A-18s or F-35s), as they are seeing UCLASS as a technology development program to properly mature the technology without overspending.
Congress wants the USN to go straight to a high-end strike fighter version - despite the USN believing the technology isn't mature enough for that - and despite the
much higher costs that program objective would bring.
Your post appears to be on the opposite side of me, and lacks something of reality.
You seem to believe that anyone who does not oppose the F-35 must automatically be rabidly and uncritically supportive of it - this is not true.
As hard as it may be for you to believe, there are many, like myself, who support the aircraft while ALSO both recognizing
and being annoyed by the errors, flaws, and mismanagement that has plagued the program - just as there are those who disagree with the continuance of the program but base that on reason and undistorted facts, and who also accept when the program has successes.
I was speaking only of the rabid unreasoning haters, and it appears you believe I am one of the blind unreasoning supporters. You are wrong about me.