MSOCS
Well, do those advocating the F-35 know? I don't think so!
I takes so long to complete these programs that by the time the finished article is ready, the damn things been in development for twenty years and the whole geo political landscape has changed around it- the things it was meant to do no longer need done.
We get ever more complex and expensive kit, that all has to be paid for. Great for Lockheed- but not quite so good for the rest of us. It's all ready, but who is it meant to fight?
I think we'd do better with more soldiers, better vehicles, some more ships, a decent but less sophisticated mud mover for CAS and a good pointy jet for AD.
The F-35 is a classic example of a plane that's designed to do a lot of things, but none of them very well.
It won't be a great mud mover, it won't be a great fighter.
The military get it VERY wrong sometimes. I think they've over reached themselves with this thing.
At least the US Navy had the balls to pull the plug on the A-12.
This program has grown it's own legs politically and one hears all sorts of economic reasons why this country or that should 'stay with the program' but it's never because it's such a brilliant aircraft.
The truth is that it's just not a very good warplane- IMHO of course!
