By Joshua Krause
For over a decade the US military has spent $1.5 trillion dollars to
create an all-purpose fighter jet that would replace their diverse fleet
of warplanes. It’s a project that has been rife with criticism for
being grossly over budget and delayed for years, not to mention the fact
that the plane is riddled with technical flaws and lacks maneuverability (most recently, it was revealed that the F-35 has a faulty radar
that needs to be frequently restarted). And each of these problem prone
aircraft cost 3 to 5 times as much to manufacture as older fighter
jets, like the F-15 and F-16.
Now officials with the Pentagon are admitting that this massive boondoggle is a total bust.
One official admitted that to replace the Air Force’s entire fleet,
which was the original intention of the F-35 program, they would have
eliminate a fifth of their squadrons to afford it. Two generals said
that the whole idea of an all-purpose aircraft was flawed from the
start, and the Pentagon is already planning a 6th generation fighter jet
to replace the F-35.
To maintain any semblance of air superiority, the military will be
forced to maintain their older weapon systems alongside the F-35 until a
replacement is made, which is the ultimate proof that the concept of an
all-purpose fighter jet is a complete failure. By the time the next
generation fighter is in production, which is expected by the year 2040,
our fleet of F-15s and F-16s will be 70 years old and completely
outclassed by Chinese and Russian aircraft.
What’s worse is that even though the military hates this plane, they
can’t scrap the project. Too much money has been spent to back out now,
which you might recognize as the same logical fallacy that keeps
compulsive gamblers from walking away from slot machines.
In addition to this, over 1,300 suppliers employing 133,000 people in
45 states, are responsible for building the F-35. This means that most
members of Congress will be unwilling to vote down the project, for fear
of killing jobs in their districts. So for the next few decades, the
military is stuck with this faulty aircraft, and the taxpayers are stuck
with the bill.
“La sabiduría de la vida consiste en la eliminación de lo no esencial. En reducir los problemas de la filosofía a unos pocos solamente: el goce del hogar, de la vida, de la naturaleza, de la cultura”. Lin Yutang
Cervantes
Hoy es el día más hermoso de nuestra vida, querido Sancho; los obstáculos más grandes, nuestras propias indecisiones; nuestro enemigo más fuerte, el miedo al poderoso y a nosotros mismos; la cosa más fácil, equivocarnos; la más destructiva, la mentira y el egoísmo; la peor derrota, el desaliento; los defectos más peligrosos, la soberbia y el rencor; las sensaciones más gratas, la buena conciencia, el esfuerzo para ser mejores sin ser perfectos, y sobretodo, la disposición para hacer el bien y combatir la injusticia dondequiera que esté.
MIGUEL DE CERVANTES
Don Quijote de la Mancha.
MIGUEL DE CERVANTES
Don Quijote de la Mancha.