When Even the "Good" Plane Sinks the Economy

F-35 engine shows challenge of belt-tightening - USATODAY.com

The F-22, while being a major feat of aeronautics and engineering, is pretty much unneeded today.  Even if we were to get involved in a "traditional" war with, let's say, China, Russia, or some other European power, most of the planes that get shot down would likely get taken down from the ground.  Dogfighting is largely a thing of the past, negated by increasing speeds, maneuverability, and stealth technologies.  Even as bomber escorts, they seem futile; any missile, ground or air, could target any singly aircraft, escorts would merely be sacrificial vessels at best.

In any case, I digress.  The point is, the F-22 was to be the military's superweapon of the future.  Tactics have rendered it obsolete since its initial design, but the project was so huge, tied to so many companies, so many states and districts, and requiring so many subsidies, that nobody was going to let it fail.  Even though it's maintenance cost is astronomical, and it has shown a weakness to rain, nobody was going to shoot the project down -- it was political suicide.



The F-35 was always at the more practical end of the project.  Also called the JSF, or Joint Strike Fighter, it was to be used by the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps.  The F-22 was an Air Force only craft.  In addition it was more useful in non-dogfighting circumstances, while still being useful in dogfighting circumstances (thus the "strike" in "joint strike fighter").

If the F-35 is facing these same legal hurdles, adding unnecessary items to it to weigh it down, both fiscally and physically, I wonder if it is worth it.  The F-18s are still fine, and can easily be modified to be kept up to date.

Make no mistake about it, America is a strong country.  It's military is huge, and America is probably the least invadable country in the world because of it.  However I worry that the military industrial complex has too much control -- not the military itself, but the corporations that manufacture goods for the military to use.  The fact that they make their money almost solely from government contracts and subsidies doesn't help -- they need the government's support, they will force the government's support.

And just to throw it out there, I was once accepted into Marine Corps OCS for aviation, with the idea that I would be given a shot to fly F-35s by the time I was through training.  It seems like a lifetime ago (where does the time go) but it was there.

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." -- Antoine de Saint-Exuper

-- Knuttel