People often comment on government spending, and I often question it too -especially when I read articles like some of the ones that I read this evening in Combat Aircraft magazine (October 2014). It seems the U.S. bought 20 ex-Italian Air Force C-27A aircraft. They are kind of a mini C-130, with two engines, designed for intra theater transport, often on unimproved fields. They were sent back to the manufacturer for refurbishment, and then passed on to Afghanistan to rebuild their transport capabilities. They started delivering them in 2009 and have delivered 16 of the 20. In Afghan use they have been unreliable, so these 16 aircraft, along with the remaining 4 that went directly from refurbishment in Italy to storage in Germany, are now being scrapped. The cost to U.S. taxpayers? $596M. Indonesia has been gifted 19 F-16Cs and 5 F-16Ds, after having them refurbished and completely upgraded to the latest standard for avionics and defensive measures. They were provided to Indonesia at no cost as excess defense articles. The cost to U.S. taxpayers? $670M. The latest on the joint strike fighter, the F-35? You may recall that the first aircraft flew in 2006, and has had a troubled history. The first production aircraft was produced in 2012 and it has yet to reach combat ready status. Its gun may have to be replaced, as the current one still has not been certified. It only carries 182 rounds of ammunition. (this is all important, because they are trying to retire the A-10, used for the close air support mission, with the F-35 to replace it -but the F-35 appears to be years from reaching full service) The operational fleet is limited to -1 to +3G (g-force, a measure of the number of times gravity these aircraft are allowed to pull. A plane in level flight is pulling 1G, 1 time the force of gravity. A plane in a 60 degree bank is pulling 2Gs, causing it to weigh twice as much in this turn). The planes are also limited to only 3 hrs. of operation between engine inspections (test F-35s are allowed to fly 6 hrs. between inspections). Operational aircraft are also only allowed to fly no faster than Mach 0.9, in other words, not exceed the speed of sound, while test aircraft are allowed to reach Mach 1.6. The helmet cuing system also doesnt work. Did I mention that the F-35 costs between $148 and $337M EACH, depending on the model. Yes, I support military spending, and supporting friendly nations, but the F-35 is a dog, and how friendly are Afghanistan and Indonesia to us?
Posted on: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 03:31:58 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015