Dead Lightning?
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RIP F35?
President-elect Donald Trump reportedly told Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet that he plans to cancel the $1 trillion F-35 contract because 'China is winning the fighter race' while the company 'sends executives to DEI camps'. This comes days after Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy's new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) launched an attack against Pentagon's modern fighter jets, saying that drones were the future of air combat.
Neither Trump nor Lockheed have commented on the reported comments yet. However, social media users were quick to react.
"Elon has recommended, and Trump has agreed, that the F-35 needs to be cancelled. This is a $2 trillion fighter program that is already obsolete. In the era of drone warfare, it is crazy to be spending $2 trillion (or more) over decades on a plane that is not needed," one person said on X, platform formerly known as Twitter.
"The amount of crashes, delays, and cost overruns is off the charts. This is one of the most wasteful projects in U.S. military history," another one added.
Trump in 2020 praised the F-35 saying the jet is 'invisible'. "(The F-35 is) the greatest fighter jet in the world, as you know, by far. Stealth. Totally stealth. You can’t see it. Makes it very difficult. I was asking a pilot, 'What do you think is better: This one? This one? That one?' Talking about Russian planes, Chinese planes. He said, 'Well, the advantage we have is you can’t see it.' So when we’re fighting, they can’t see us. I say, 'That sounds like a really big advantage to me,'" the president-elect had said.
However, if the 78-year-old plans to cancel Lockheed's contract - it will be a massive blow to the plane's circulation in the country.
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RIP F35?
President-elect Donald Trump reportedly told Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet that he plans to cancel the $1 trillion F-35 contract because 'China is winning the fighter race' while the company 'sends executives to DEI camps'. This comes days after Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy's new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) launched an attack against Pentagon's modern fighter jets, saying that drones were the future of air combat.
Neither Trump nor Lockheed have commented on the reported comments yet. However, social media users were quick to react.
"Elon has recommended, and Trump has agreed, that the F-35 needs to be cancelled. This is a $2 trillion fighter program that is already obsolete. In the era of drone warfare, it is crazy to be spending $2 trillion (or more) over decades on a plane that is not needed," one person said on X, platform formerly known as Twitter.
"The amount of crashes, delays, and cost overruns is off the charts. This is one of the most wasteful projects in U.S. military history," another one added.
Trump in 2020 praised the F-35 saying the jet is 'invisible'. "(The F-35 is) the greatest fighter jet in the world, as you know, by far. Stealth. Totally stealth. You can’t see it. Makes it very difficult. I was asking a pilot, 'What do you think is better: This one? This one? That one?' Talking about Russian planes, Chinese planes. He said, 'Well, the advantage we have is you can’t see it.' So when we’re fighting, they can’t see us. I say, 'That sounds like a really big advantage to me,'" the president-elect had said.
However, if the 78-year-old plans to cancel Lockheed's contract - it will be a massive blow to the plane's circulation in the country.
@George-K said in Dead Lightning?:
"(The F-35 is) the greatest fighter jet in the world, as you know, by far. Stealth. Totally stealth. You can’t see it. Makes it very difficult. I was asking a pilot, 'What do you think is better: This one? This one? That one?' Talking about Russian planes, Chinese planes. He said, 'Well, the advantage we have is you can’t see it.' So when we’re fighting, they can’t see us. I say, 'That sounds like a really big advantage to me,'" …
Well, canceling the F-35 is a good way of ensuring that the enemies won’t see it. Totally stealth.
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@George-K said in Dead Lightning?:
"(The F-35 is) the greatest fighter jet in the world, as you know, by far. Stealth. Totally stealth. You can’t see it. Makes it very difficult. I was asking a pilot, 'What do you think is better: This one? This one? That one?' Talking about Russian planes, Chinese planes. He said, 'Well, the advantage we have is you can’t see it.' So when we’re fighting, they can’t see us. I say, 'That sounds like a really big advantage to me,'" …
Well, canceling the F-35 is a good way of ensuring that the enemies won’t see it. Totally stealth.
@Axtremus said in Dead Lightning?:
Well, canceling the F-35 is a good way of ensuring that the enemies won’t see it.
Correct.
I'm sure no one has thought of applying stealth tech to drones.
I'm of mixed feeling with regard to the F-35. It's been plagued with all kinds of development problems, and maintenance is ridiculously expensive. Not to mention the $42K, or so, per hour to fly it. Similar cost for the F-22. F-16 and A-10 are about half that. Its maintenance to flight ratio (hours) is about 10-1. F-22 is even higher.
One of the other purported advantages the F-35 has is its maneuverability. Take the pilot out of that consideration, and even unstealthy aircraft could, theoretically, outmaneuver an air-to-air missile.
