It has been a long while since people have heard a positive
story on military aircraft in the works. Below is a link, and an encapsulation of the F-35 program. The F-22
project gave the pentagon such heart burn it stopped it at 187 copies; after its
extreme price per copy amounts, and testing short comings for re-work stalled the Inventory. The real big
show was the F-35 Joint Fight program.
It will be $135 million a copy or thereabouts in that amount. In short, its the same war Fighter for the Air Force, Navy, and Marines. The one size
fits all services is rapidly reaching a development climax, and will become
operational in the next months. Lockheed will build on the US Treasury for its defense.
With all the clamor over the F-35 a,b,c type stumbling forward, it appeared as a less than an adequate result for defending our nation.
However, not so fast my friends. The F-35 is making a big comeback in a big way. Even the F-22 has become such a valued military commodity that it is sparingly used in everyday conflicts and saved just for all-out war theaters of strategic importance.
With all the clamor over the F-35 a,b,c type stumbling forward, it appeared as a less than an adequate result for defending our nation.
However, not so fast my friends. The F-35 is making a big comeback in a big way. Even the F-22 has become such a valued military commodity that it is sparingly used in everyday conflicts and saved just for all-out war theaters of strategic importance.
The F-35's are the equivalent of various Special Forces units, for Boots in
the Air, missions. The F-35: "if you can't find it, you can't hit it." It doesn't need Mach 3+, only 1,200 nmph. Its
longbow approach will stifle adversary encroachment beyond a 100 mile arc of control for the mission. Its flights, mainly would engage "off-shore dog fighting scheme" (shooting down an adversary from 100 nm out) However, in actual close encounters, if it happens, the air superiority emerges, since an adversary can't turn away fast enough (F-35 pulls 9 g's I hear).
The only thing shooting it down is the $135 million cost per unit. However, if Lockheed builds boatloads of F-35 for the services mentioned, that cost would naturally come down to sub $100 million levels per flying copy. Mass production could make the F-35 arrive at a 10 units per $Billion clip. It has a fifty year shelf life with future follow-on enhancements would extend it beyond a usual fighter life cycle. The F-35 family of war machines should be good to go until 2050+, or long after my own end of service.
The only thing shooting it down is the $135 million cost per unit. However, if Lockheed builds boatloads of F-35 for the services mentioned, that cost would naturally come down to sub $100 million levels per flying copy. Mass production could make the F-35 arrive at a 10 units per $Billion clip. It has a fifty year shelf life with future follow-on enhancements would extend it beyond a usual fighter life cycle. The F-35 family of war machines should be good to go until 2050+, or long after my own end of service.
Lockheed Feature:
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