Two Very Troubled Fighter Jets

[Richard]

Big surprise.

Reminds me of Mr Scott's comments on Star Trek lll: "The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain."

And so it goes...

Richard

Two Very Troubled Fighter Jets
NYT, 14 July 2012

Economic pressures are forcing justifiable cuts in military spending. The budget control act passed by Congress in 2011 mandated $480 billion in cuts over 10 years, with the possibility of $500 billion more in reductions, beginning next January. After a decade of unrestrained military spending, the Pentagon needs this rebalancing.

With such cuts looming, it is more important than ever to ensure that every defense dollar is spent wisely. Yet problems with two major weapons show how far the Pentagon is from that goal and how dysfunctional its procurement system remains.

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter was supposed to prove that the Pentagon could build a technologically advanced weapon system within an affordable budget, without huge delays. After the aircraft turned into the Pentagon’s biggest budget buster, and performed disappointingly, the Obama administration tried to correct course in 2010. A new report last month by the Government Accountability Office showed that the problems had not been solved.

The Air Force, the Navy and the Marines plan to buy more than 2,400 F-35s through 2037. The accountability office now estimates the total cost of acquisition at nearly $400 billion, up 42 percent from the estimate in 2007; the price per plane has doubled since project development began in 2001. Cost overruns now total $1 billion.

The agency reported other problems as well. It said that the plane would not be in full production until 2019, a delay of six years, and that the small number of planes produced so far were being delivered, on average, one year late. The F-35’s overall performance in 2011 was described as “mixed.” There also have been difficulties integrating 24 million lines of software code into the complex computer system.

Meanwhile, the F-22 Raptor, the world’s costliest and most advanced stealth fighter jet, is also mired in performance problems. Over the past 18 months, there have been repeated cases in which pilots have suffered dizziness and disorientation from lack of oxygen in the planes, which cost $400 million each.

The Air Force has acknowledged 36 incidents, with 21 of those described as unexplained; three more episodes were reported in recent weeks. For more than a year, Air Force officials have struggled to find a cause of the problem, and last month said they believed that a pressure vest was restricting pilots’ breathing and that narrow oxygen hoses were leaking or not delivering enough air. But two pilots who experienced recent hypoxia symptoms were not wearing vests.

Late last year, the Air Force stopped flying the F-22 for five months. Flights have since resumed, but are limited to within 30 minutes of a landing field.

The administration committed early on to reform the acquisition system and rein in escalating costs, but clearly its efforts are not sufficient. Congress and defense contractors have a stake in this too. Many are complaining about the financial and strategic pressures that are forcing defense reductions. They need to worry as much about the billions being wasted.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/op...jets.html?_r=1

[PSM]

And yet, the B-52 (born shortly after my birth) and the F-16 (late 70s) are still out there kicking butt!

Pat

[The Reaper]

All complicated systems start out this way. I remember the F-16 being referred to as the "Lawn Dart". The F-15 and F-18 were called death machines.

Most eventually sort it out and prove to be worthy.

Some get procured regardless.

TR

[MtnGoat]

You look at the F16, F18 & F15 as how well they operate and now they are making the F22 & F35. Now being made by the same companies that make those same aircrafts.. Why in the hell do they change systems, proven systems. You go make a new O2 delivery system. Don't get it. I understand with the F35 being a totally new aircraft design.

[Pete]

And the Blackhawk was called the Crash Hawk.

But still, for $400 million a copy you'd think they could fix the O2 problem.

[Ambush Master]

Having lived Exremely Close to the Aircraft Industry for the last 40+ years, you would not believe what I've seen. Some of the Systems on the then "New" Shorts 330 aircraft in the late 70s and then the Saab 340, ATR72, EMB145 and CRJ700 had IDENTICAL "Growing Pains"!! The issues that I saw on the Shorts and the process of evolution of those systems, I saw over and over again on the subsequent fleets!!! It is really insane!

Later
Martin

[Badger52]

Originally Posted by Ambush Master

Some of the Systems on the then "New" Shorts 330 aircraft in the late 70s and then the Saab 340, ATR72, EMB145 and CRJ700 had IDENTICAL "Growing Pains"!!
Later
Martin

Interesting sir. The Shorts went on to become our regional puddle jumper for awhile up in this neck of the woods. In C-23 garb the type seemed just as noisy last weekend over our DZ but continues to serve.

Noting that fleets of C-27J's are being grounded & reviewed, I wonder how much difficult teething was had by the C-130 that Kelly Johnson swore would ruin Lockheed... don't recall Mom mentioning anything bad in later years when I asked her. (She held it in as high regard during her years at Lockheed as the U-2, SR-71 & of course her favorite, the P-38.)

Do you think that development troubles symptom is because of consortium-style contracts, rather than what seems to have been single-company development in a bygone era?

[PSM]

Originally Posted by Ambush Master

Shorts 330

At GWA, when we got our new SD-330s, an LAX tower controller commented, "We heard you got new aircraft, Goldie. When are you going to take them out of the crates."

Pat