Nothing more than an exorbitantly expensive 'kite'.

And kites don't always fly.







Psalms 20:7
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.


Isaiah 54:17
No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper....


Jeremiah 17:5
.....Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.
....
7  Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.

Yadda wrote on Jul 25^th, 2014 at 8:20pm:


Perhaps the most capable military kite which is being introduced into service at this moment, Yadda.  Nothing to do with with Biblical faith at all.   

Brian Ross wrote on Jul 25^th, 2014 at 9:17pm:


Well, I suppose we'll just have to wait and see, won't we. One wonders just how their warranty plan is structured.

There have been rumblings about the entire project for years. And it still not without significant faults, some of them in basic design.

13 July 2014:

" The world's most advanced fighter jet has been grounded by US military investigators following an engine fire, it was revealed yesterday.

Hopes of seeing the world's most advanced fighter jet make its debut in Britain faded last week faded after the US military refused to allow it to fly while its investigation continued. The US F-35 joint strike fighter, in which Britain has a stake, had been expected to be the star attraction at this weekend's Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford, which ends today. It was also expected to star at this week's Farnborough Air Show, opening tomorrow.

But an aborted take-off in which part of the engine ripped out through the top of the plane and caused a fire, as an F-35 was preparing to take to the skies from an air base in Florida last month, resulted in the entire fleet being grounded.

"At this time, I do not have sufficient information to return the F-35B and F-35C fleet to flight," Vice Admiral David Dunaway, who heads the US Navy's air systems command, said in a memorandum obtained by Reuters news agency. He claimed there was "no discernible event that represents a root cause".

As for the chances of the fighter coming to Britain this week, he said: "There are specific additional evaluation conditions required to support the Farnborough Air Show in the UK, including the ferry flight across the Atlantic and performance in the air show itself."

Investigations by the US military are continuing, and an update is expected by Wednesday.

British defence officials admitted yesterday that the F-35's appearance at Farnborough Air Show is in doubt. In a statement, a Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesperson said: "The safety of pilots and aircraft has to be our priority. We fully support the decision not to grant clearance for the aircraft to make their first transatlantic flight to the UK until the technical investigations are complete. Should clearance be granted in the coming days, we will work with the US marine corps to facilitate the aircraft's participation in the Farnborough International Air Show."

The F-35 fleet grounding is "not expected to have a significant impact on the programme and we are on track for the UK's aircraft to achieve their initial operating capability in 2018", the spokesperson said.

But this is the latest in a series of setbacks for the F-35, whose Lightning II variant is the state-of-the-art replacement for Britain's retired Harrier jump-jet fleet. Years of delays and technical problems have caused the cost of each plane to soar to £100m. Earlier this year, Michael Gilmore, the US military's chief weapons tester, called the software performance of the advanced stealth fighter "unacceptable".

Production was also disrupted after it was discovered last year that the fuel tank could explode if struck by lightning, along with a design fault which hindered the fighter from being able to descend rapidly to low altitude. Tests by the United States air force and Lockheed Martin, the aircraft's manufacturer, also discovered cracks in parts of the plane.

The number of fighters Britain is likely to end up buying has already been slashed from the 138 envisaged by the last government to about 48, and an order will not be placed until after next year's strategic defence and security review. In the meantime, Britain's new aircraft carriers will have to wait until the end of the decade before the planes they need are ready.

Responding to the news yesterday General Lord Dannatt, former chief of defence staff, said: "Where matters of safety are involved, rushing procedures just to be able to appear at Farnborough would be very unwise. Like all leading-edge technology, a programme like the F-35 is bound to be prone to delays and cost overruns. I hope the MoD has made sensible provision for this."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/f35-fighter-jets-grounded-while...


And that's without even mentioning the Pratt & Whitney engine troubles.

So, we'll see, shall we?

I hope the F35 will be ok but it sure is a worry.

Lionel Edriess wrote on Jul 25^th, 2014 at 11:03pm:


Nothing wrong with the basic design, Lionel.  The Russians just before the fall of the Soviet Union were about to adopt a remarkably similar design, the Yak-141 "Freestyle" which was a case of parallel design (rather than one copying the other or vice-a-versa).  If the basic design was so flawed, why did the Yakovlev OKB decide on the same concept to solve the same problem?

What most casual or ignorant observers of modern aircraft development don't seem to understand about the F-35 is that it has actually been quite a remarkably almost accident free development programme when compared to other advanced aircraft over the last sixty years since WWII.  The F-4 Phantom, now considered one of the all time classic fighter aircraft had over 20 development aircraft crash.  The F-111 had half a dozen crashes.  The Saab Gripen, one of the aircraft many believe should be adopted instead of the F-35 had several quite spectacular crashes such as this one:



And this one:


And then there was the crash of one of the F-22 prototypes - the plane many seem to think the US should allow us to buy instead of the F-35:



The point is, systems as complex as aircraft often have long, difficult and dangerous development programmes.  The F-35 is no different.  It is "pushing the envelope" in many areas.  Some of those bring difficulties and dangers with them.  Yet we don't hear the critics of the F-35 programme whom advocate the adoption of this aircraft or that aircraft instead of the F-35 using the same language about the crashes of their favourite aircraft...   

The reality is that no other aircraft at this present moment offers the same capabilities as the F-35.  All are older or lack the major points of the F-35 design - stealth and Optronic systems and AESA radar.   With those things, the F-35 is more advanced, more capable and able to best all other aircraft, except perhaps the F-22 (and IMHO it would still be a close run thing).

Why are we wasting so much money on these useless planes?  We'd be better off purchasing Russian anti-aircraft missiles like the Buk system.  It is now combat proven!   

|dev|null wrote on Jul 29^th, 2014 at 11:15am:


I hardly call shooting down a harmless airliner flying in a straight line at a fixed altitude "combat".  HB, you should continue with your tuition from your Sensei.  You have a long way to go before you can take over his mantle.   

|dev|null wrote on Jul 30^th, 2014 at 6:18pm:




That's because you are an idiot with little to no knowledge of this subject matter and I dare say most subjects.

BigOl64 wrote on Jul 29^th, 2014 at 1:13pm:

wow, from the lips of a trained murderer no less 

Yadda wrote on Jul 25^th, 2014 at 11:43pm:


As its name suggests, the Joint Strike Fighter isn't an American plane.  It's a multinational project.

The Lightning II is named after the English Electric Lightning.