https://sputnikglobe.com/20231216/us-f-35-still-underperforms-rival-jets-as-taxpayer-bill-hits-17-trillion---experts-1115615405.html
US F-35 Still Underperforms Rival Jets as Taxpayer Bill Hits $1.7 Trillion - Experts
US F-35 Still Underperforms Rival Jets as Taxpayer Bill Hits $1.7 Trillion - Experts
Sputnik International
The F-35 fighter jet continues to lag Chinese and Russian counterparts in terms of effectiveness despite costs soaring to exorbitant levels, forcing the US to seek more war to justify the investment, experts told Sputnik.
2023-12-16T02:07+0000
2023-12-16T02:07+0000
2023-12-16T02:07+0000
military
us
f-35
pentagon
us government accountability office (gao)
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Earlier this week, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) in an audit sponsored by Congress said the $1.7 trillion F-35 program's costs continued to soar out of control, rising another $44 billion 17 years after it first flew and eight years after it entered service. The aircraft continues to be plagued by issues with technology upgrades including cockpit electronics software, the Pentagon has said. As a result, the former Pentagon analyst said the US political establishment is seeking to foment conflicts regardless of the best interests of the United States. Kwiatkowski said the F-35 was designed to deliver "a continuous and growing paycheck" to the defense contractors who conduct a lifetime of extensive repairs on the aircraft. "One plane, all missions, and guaranteed profits. As older and more battle hardened US air combat capabilities are retired and shifted to the F-35, the rest of the world may in fact be chuckling instead of shaking in their boots," she said.REMAINS OUTGUNNED BY CHINA, RUSSIAKwiatkowski said the US Air Force recognizes the shortfalls of the program such as inability to operate far from logistics support, lessons that would be applied if the F-35 was deployed to defend Taiwan or in a war in the Pacific theater. F-35 availability rates, she added, would be far below the current 55% due to both inherent reliability and durability issues. Plus, it is still unknown whether the aircraft has the ability to successfully operate in an active hostile environment, Kwiatkowski said. Retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel Earl Rasmussen, former vice president of the Eurasia Foundation, said the F-35 is impressive when it is operational but it will likely face problems when facing Russia's Sukhoi Su-57 or China's J-20.The Russian Su-57 and the Chinese J-20 and J-31 have advantages with respect to speed, range, agility and lethality, he added. "The Chinese J-20 is faster, has longer range, and carries more weapon systems," Rasmussen said. "The Russian Su-57 while lacking in stealth capabilities is faster, has a longer range, and is more agile with significantly more maneuverability than the F-35. The SU-57 carries a wide variety of armaments to include cruise missiles giving it a great stand-off capability and the ability to engage targets from a range of 300 km [180 miles]."
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f-35, f-35 price, f-35 how much does it cost, us government accountability office, what is better f-35 or su-57 or j-20
f-35, f-35 price, f-35 how much does it cost, us government accountability office, what is better f-35 or su-57 or j-20
US F-35 Still Underperforms Rival Jets as Taxpayer Bill Hits $1.7 Trillion - Experts
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The F-35 fighter jet continues to lag Chinese and Russian counterparts in terms of effectiveness despite costs soaring to exorbitant levels, forcing the US to seek more war to justify the investment, experts told Sputnik.
Earlier this week, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) in an audit sponsored by Congress said the $1.7 trillion F-35 program's costs continued to soar out of control, rising
another $44 billion 17 years after it first flew and eight years after it entered service. The aircraft continues to be plagued by issues with technology upgrades including cockpit electronics software, the Pentagon has said.
"The cost of this aircraft, continually rising and hard to justify financially, is a stunning example of what the corporate defense industry has wrought in its domination of Congress and of the Executive Branch," former Pentagon analyst and retired US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski told Sputnik. "A new war anywhere in the world means new and long-term contracts, and provides high paying jobs for a small sector of the country."
As a result, the former Pentagon analyst said the US political establishment is seeking to foment conflicts regardless of the best interests of the United States.
Kwiatkowski said the F-35 was designed to deliver "a continuous and growing paycheck" to the defense contractors who conduct a lifetime of extensive repairs on the aircraft.
"One plane, all missions, and guaranteed profits. As older and more battle hardened US air combat capabilities are retired and shifted to the F-35, the rest of the world may in fact be chuckling instead of shaking in their boots," she said.
REMAINS OUTGUNNED BY CHINA, RUSSIA
Kwiatkowski said the US Air Force recognizes the shortfalls of the program such as inability to operate far from logistics support, lessons that would be applied if the F-35 was deployed to defend Taiwan or in a war in the Pacific theater.
"In a battlespace where the F-35 is part of an offensive combined arms campaign, far from home... F-35 would not remain in the fight for long," the former Pentagon analyst said.
F-35 availability rates, she added, would be far below the current 55% due to both inherent reliability and durability issues. Plus, it is still unknown whether the aircraft has the ability to successfully operate in an active hostile environment, Kwiatkowski said.
Retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel Earl Rasmussen, former vice president of the Eurasia Foundation, said the F-35 is impressive when it is operational but it will likely face problems when facing Russia's Sukhoi Su-57 or China's J-20.
"While the F-35 may have an advantage in a perfect environment, war is not a perfect environment. Operational effectiveness may cause challenges and a degradation of sensor and network communication capabilities will likely put the F-35 at a disadvantage in a one-to-one engagement with both the SU-57 and J-20," Rasmussen said.
The Russian Su-57 and the Chinese J-20 and J-31 have advantages with respect to speed, range, agility and lethality, he added.
"The Chinese J-20 is faster, has longer range, and carries more weapon systems," Rasmussen said. "The Russian Su-57 while lacking in stealth capabilities is faster, has a longer range, and is more agile with significantly more maneuverability than the F-35. The SU-57 carries a wide variety of armaments to include cruise missiles giving it a great stand-off capability and the ability to engage targets from a range of 300 km [180 miles]."
