Friday, April 05, 2019

F-35 News. Marines accelerate buy of F-35C. Those sneaky squiddies are making us fulfill the Carrier portion of the F-35 buy!


Those sneaky fucking squiddies are making us fulfill the carrier portion of the F-35 buy!  Instead of buying cheaper, more affordable Super Hornets we're juicing our own budget by getting this plane.  Meanwhile the squids are sitting back laughing.  Here's the story via USNI News.
The Marine Corps is accelerating its F-35C carrier variant Joint Strike Fighter procurement and slowing its F-35B vertical landing variant to support Navy deployment requirements, the Marines’ top aviator told lawmakers today.

In its Fiscal Year 2020 budget request the Marines asked for 10 fewer F-35Bs; in the budget’s projection for outyears, the service dropped its planned F-35B buys by five F-35Bs in 2021 and three in FY 2022. For the F-35C, though, the service increased its request by nine planes in the five-year Future Years Defense Program.

Lt. Gen. Steven Rudder, deputy commandant of the Marine Corps for aviation, told the House Armed Services tactical air and land forces subcommittee that those changes were meant to support upcoming deployments.

With the Marine Corps on the hook for some of the planned F-35C carrier strike group deployments, “we rebalanced this year with more Cs – just really more to catch up. Now that we have begun training our first F-35C squadron up in Lemoore, we will be the second carrier deployment with the United States Navy with our F-35Cs,” Rudder said.

The Navy’s Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147 will conduct the first deployment with the F-35C integrated into the carrier air wing, and Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314 will conduct the second F-35C carrier deployment.
Here.

Rotating purchases my ass!  The Navy is kicking back to see if the problems get ironed out before they go all in.  Additionally by waiting they get to take advantage of the "price drop" from the production curve flattening out.

How are we getting rolled by a bunch of bell bottom wearing Sea-men?

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