EDITOR’S NOTE: We are reposting the following article, which was originally published by FreedomWolf on December 3rd, 2012, due to an update on the status of the F-35 fighter jet. Recently, all F-35s have been grounded because of a ”crack in the turbine blade of one of the planes.” US Represented feels that this discussion needs to be revisited in light of the considerable sum of money invested in this project.
Picture courtesy of Michael Spooneybarger / Reuters
After long delays, budget issues, and a two-year probation, the United States Marine Corps will take delivery of a the first F-35B Lightning II attack fighters. The 121st Marine All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA(AW)-121) will be the first Marine squadron to fly the new plane and has undergone a refit and upgrade to its hangars and airfields in preparation.
Budget overruns, technical malfunctions, and structural issues have dogged the program from the beginning, making it the most expensive weapons development program thus far. After ten years in development, the project has cost over $385 billion and is projected to exceed $1 trillion over the next 50 years.
According to Colonel Pete Field (USMC Ret), the Marines’ F-35B variant is the most complicated of the three designs, primarily due to its vertical takeoff and landing capability. This caused it to be heavier than initially predicted, and it had to be lightened substantially. However, Colonel Field believes this could lead to structural problems in the future. “We won’t know for two or three years,” said Field.
The F-35B will replace the aging AV-8B Harrier “jump jet,” which has acted as the Marine Corps’ close air support aircraft for two decades. With more advanced avionics, stealth technology, and the ability to take off and land in confined spaces, the F-35B will make a highly flexible addition to the Navy and Marine Corps ground attack element.
I know how they could lighten it up–remove the pilot’s chair and high-altitude life support systems. At this stage of our technological development, the weakest part of any aircraft is the squishy bit in the middle. UAVs can take higher g’s, they’re cheaper to operate, and they don’t endanger American lives. All due respect to military pilots, who are the badass knights in stealthy armor of our armed forces, it is time to make the shift to full-combat drone aircraft.
Except that pilots have intelligence and consciousnesses, and without that precious ‘squishy bit’, we have one less line of defense against a catastrophe like Yemen. I really don’t feel comfortable with my government having plug-and-play, Xbox killing machines right now, and I certainly wouldn’t feel comfortable if our entire military could be operated by a General and a room of CoD players. And no, UAVs, UGVs, and UNVs don’t endanger American lives. Unless, of course, you’re the American being targeted.
Disclaimer–I am an ignorant, non-military American who is tragically afflicted with a crippling distrust of his government. If I posted anything untrue or offensive to the brave men and women protecting my rights, I apologize and welcome the correction. I honor our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines, I just don’t like the guys in suits telling them what to do.
I am actually against an all-drone air combat element. We need humans in the equation at the controls, not some control booth a hundred miles away, but right there in the aircraft. Do fighter pilots have a dangerous job? Yes, but they know that, and yet they fly anyway. If they think it’s too dangerous, then they probably aren’t pilots anymore. Some actually ENJOY the thrill that comes from walking the razor’s edge. I’ve never actually flown in a fighter, but I have flown, and it is absolutely exhilarating. Furthermore, if we allow drones to take the place of humans because it is “too dangerous,” then what’s to stop us from constantly going to war? With drones, we there would be no risk, no human casualties. War would just become a video game fought with hundred million dollar equipment.
“It is good that war is so terrible, lest we grow fond of it.”
Robert E. Lee
As an update to this article, please review the following link that will take you to a *NY Times* article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/23/business/new-troubles-for-pentagons-f-35-fighter.html?_r=0.
The Pentagon is grounding all F-35s due to a crack in one of the jet’s turbine blades. As the *Times* article notes: “The Pentagon estimates that it could spend as much as $396 billion to buy 2,456 of the jets by the late 2030s. But the program, the most expensive in military history, has been plagued by cost overruns and delays, and it could easily become a target for budget cutters.”
While the F-35 is an amazing aircraft, it really needs to be shelved. It has already cost tax-payers billions of dollars, and with our military facing deep (and regrettable) budget cuts, this aircraft is too much of a lemon. It has already been plagued with problems, and it hasn’t even gone into combat yet. The time has come to let this project go. Find the problem, fix it in the current aircraft, then stop production. Issue the remaining jets to a handful of units, and let this program die.