To return to our thread's topic:
- F-35 still not cancelled.
- Some nations are unhappy with extended timelines and cost
- USMC declares IOC
- F-22 is a better dogfighter, and was always the Hi in the Hi Lo mix.
- F-22 is not for sale and isn't the topic of this thread
- F-35's performance in a shooting war remains to be seen.
Insofar as the US forces,
it's the gal we are gonna bring to the dance for the multi role FJ, ship and shore based, as the older airframes eventually get too long in the tooth.
Like it or not.
Expensive or not.
Imperfect or not.
As the groom realizes walking away from the alter, we are committed.
Flashback:
There we were, in the Med, 1985. I was in CIC on AW (a cruiser, air defense commander for our BG) and we had the darnedest time managing the fighter grid because F-18A deck cycle times (and refueling coordination) wasn't as generous as the F-14's that we were used to dealing with. It seemed that them Hornets were always out of gas, or near to it.
Learning curve for the whole BG in the operational sense, but a frustrating operational characteristic of a good jet. C/D and E/F weren't quite that challenge thanks to a number of factors to include more folks getting used to the Hornet's operational quirks. This is "here we are at the dance, let's do a waltz and a polka" operational growth.
F-35 will doubtless encounter similar operational growth development. And in this day and age, great public gnashing of teeth and rending of garments will accompany such as bit of the adaptation process dribble out into the public domain.
Get yourselves a lot of popcorn, ladies and gentlemen, this is a long movie.