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Top US general opens door for F-35 jet cuts
By LOLITA C. BALDOR - Associated Press | AP 13 hrs ago
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U.S. SLIDESHOWS
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WASHINGTON (AP) The top U.S. military officer has opened the door for cuts to the troubled F-35 fighter jet program.
Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says developing and building three variants of the high-tech fighter creates fiscal challenges for the department.
He is telling the House Armed Services Committee that he is committed to developing a new, fifth-generation fighter. But he is questioning whether the U.S. can afford separate versions for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps.
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is the biggest weapons procurement program for the Pentagon, costing $238 billion. The program is plagued with delays and cost overruns, and one variant of the plane suffered cracks in the bulkhead after it flew just 1,500 hours out of a planned 16,000.
Top US general opens door for F-35 jet cuts - Yahoo! News
Comments from an fighter pilot::-------
FtrPlt 4 hours ago Report Abuse
Gang I am an F-16 pilot and have been for a VERY long time. We need this jet. I could spend about and hour explaining in varying degrees, as to why. I don't have stock in lockheed nor any other contractor, but we need this jet. If you want to sleep well at night, buy the jet. I along with all Americans loathe the thought of waste, corporate greed and poor mgt, but that doesn't alleviate the need. For those unaware here are some stats. F-15 began development in the 1960's and first flew in 1972 (our newest were built around 1983), F-16 developed in early 1970's first flew in 1976 (our newest was built around 1994) most were built in the mid to late 80's, B-1 designed in the 1970's newest ones built early 1980's, B-52 designed in 1950, our NEWEST B-52...built in 1963, KC-135 designed in 1950's some serving since 1957. (note only 10 years after creating the independent AF, Eisenhower was President). We have been at war for 20 plus years, every aircraft especially the fighters are completely wasted, we must reconstitute the force, we have burned them up. With the development of excellent fighters such as the SU-35 and SU-37 training really is what separates us from them. The extreme development of surface to air missile systems threatens our ability to act and guarantee air superiority. Demand accountability, but don't deny the warfighter the tools to do our job
By LOLITA C. BALDOR - Associated Press | AP 13 hrs ago
tweet2Share
U.S. SLIDESHOWS
Top 10 iconic album covers
10 photos - 9 hrs ago
Seattle "superhero" Phoenix Jones
25 photos - 11 hrs ago
Rare U2 photos
8 photos - Wed, Oct 12, 2011
See latest photos »
WASHINGTON (AP) The top U.S. military officer has opened the door for cuts to the troubled F-35 fighter jet program.
Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says developing and building three variants of the high-tech fighter creates fiscal challenges for the department.
He is telling the House Armed Services Committee that he is committed to developing a new, fifth-generation fighter. But he is questioning whether the U.S. can afford separate versions for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps.
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is the biggest weapons procurement program for the Pentagon, costing $238 billion. The program is plagued with delays and cost overruns, and one variant of the plane suffered cracks in the bulkhead after it flew just 1,500 hours out of a planned 16,000.
Top US general opens door for F-35 jet cuts - Yahoo! News
Comments from an fighter pilot::-------
FtrPlt 4 hours ago Report Abuse
Gang I am an F-16 pilot and have been for a VERY long time. We need this jet. I could spend about and hour explaining in varying degrees, as to why. I don't have stock in lockheed nor any other contractor, but we need this jet. If you want to sleep well at night, buy the jet. I along with all Americans loathe the thought of waste, corporate greed and poor mgt, but that doesn't alleviate the need. For those unaware here are some stats. F-15 began development in the 1960's and first flew in 1972 (our newest were built around 1983), F-16 developed in early 1970's first flew in 1976 (our newest was built around 1994) most were built in the mid to late 80's, B-1 designed in the 1970's newest ones built early 1980's, B-52 designed in 1950, our NEWEST B-52...built in 1963, KC-135 designed in 1950's some serving since 1957. (note only 10 years after creating the independent AF, Eisenhower was President). We have been at war for 20 plus years, every aircraft especially the fighters are completely wasted, we must reconstitute the force, we have burned them up. With the development of excellent fighters such as the SU-35 and SU-37 training really is what separates us from them. The extreme development of surface to air missile systems threatens our ability to act and guarantee air superiority. Demand accountability, but don't deny the warfighter the tools to do our job
