Nothing could be further from the truth - they write from the American tabloid - the aircraft continues to have basic problems with the engine, software development, management costs, maintenance and reliability. These factors should suggest to the Pentagon to proceed with caution. If the F-35 is not ready for the debut - they ask themselves from The Hill editorial office - what's the hurry?
"The answer can be summed up in one word: politics. The decision to declare the Initial Operational Capacity for the Marine Corps by July and proceed with the proposal to finance more than 450 aircraft in the coming years will make the F-35 program destined to fail. Once mass production is started, Congress can no longer pull the plug.
From the American tabloid they cite the main problems of hunting. From the June 23 incident last year to the engine and so no long-term solution was found to the Government Accountability Office report. The latter described the reliability of the engine as "very poor" (less than half of what it should be).
Problems (however known) are found with ALIS or Autonomic Logistics Information System, a system that monitors the status of the F-35. ALIS is considered the heart of the JSF's efficiency. ALIS, last April, found 80 per cent of "false positives".
Even the helmet is attuned by the American tabloid. "The helmet is one of the wonders of the F-35, but independent tests by the Pentagon have shown that in the event of a breakdown during a mission, the pilot would no longer be able to see what is happening behind the aircraft and below."
"The biggest problem with the F-35 is conceptual: having thought of making a single aircraft that was a fighter, a bomber, an aircraft for Close Air Support, that could land on an aircraft carrier or that could take off vertically, has involved a series of design compromises that have not made the JSF excelled in any role "
"The cost then. The F-35 will demand 12 billions of dollars a year until the 2038, an unsustainable figure unless all other projects (such as the next generation bomber or unmanned aircraft development) are downsized ".
The F-35 - conclude from the tabloid - will not be able to adequately carry out all the missions it should perform, it is not worth the cost. Before spending tens of billions of dollars, it would be advisable to pull the plug. Soon, it's too late.
Franco Iacch
(photo: US DoD)
