Britain is paying hundreds of millions of pounds in hidden costs for a next-generation warplane that will be unable to function properly because of defence cuts, an investigation by The Times has revealed.
The F-35 Lightning II, the most expensive aircraft of its kind, has been described by Sir Michael Fallon, the defence secretary, as the “most powerful and comprehensive” fast jet in history. Its American manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, has said that the aircraft will cost Britain between £77 million and £100 million each.
However, taxpayers face spending more than £150 million for each of the high-tech fighter-bombers delivered this year, analysis suggests. The extras — for items such as software upgrades, spare parts and “cost reduction initiatives” — are buried in US defence contracts and have not been included in the published figures.
Military insiders have told of fears about the aircraft, which continues to suffer setbacks described by one former senior officer as “utterly pathetic”. Britain is buying the more costly F-35-B model, which is designed to take off and land vertically. US documents reveal that four already purchased are too heavy to perform this function safely.
Hmm. I wonder. What happens when the US and foreign militaries are left with a stark decision. After more than almost two decades of work, what if they just can't make the damn thing work?
Has it reached a point where military leaders worldwide would rather continue the lie than to tell the truth to themselves, their govts and their people? Would they actually risk the security of their nations just to save face? Am I wrong to wonder after all we've seen?
Hard to believe that just 25 or so years ago, AESA radar was a boutique and unique item that many in the US believed wouldn't spread far and wide.
Fast forward to today?
It's everywhere. Air, sea and even ground based AESA arrays have changed everything when it comes to aerial warfare. Detection ranges are longer and we haven't kept pace when it comes to missile development. Additionally it seems that "frontal stealth" has been trumped.
Doesn't it seem like a consensus has been reached on stealth? Partial stealth seems to be the wave of the future (and honestly the F-35 should be classed as such)...the Russians, Chinese and even S. Koreans are headed in that direction. Japan looks set to MAYBE introduce a full stealth airplane along the lines of an F-22 type beast but we're still waiting.
Last week, Colonel Lang referred to an article by David Ignatius “in which he [Ignatius] made reference to a RAND study in which the author tries to make the case that SOF forces (Green Berets, Rangers, Delta, SEALS, and other cats and dogs) are the key to success in warfare in the future.” I just want to elaborate on the colonel’s comments. The RAND study is written by Linda Robinson, a senior international policy analyst at RAND who, in addition to numerous articles, has written a couple of books about Special Forces and our special operations forces: “Masters of Chaos” in 2005 and “One Hundred Victories: Special Ops and the Future of ” in 2013. I have not read either book and probably won’t. I did read her latest article which Ignatius referred to. Her article, “SOF’s Evolving Role: Warfare “By, With and Through” Local Forces” does contribute to a misguided idea that SOF, rather than conventional forces, is the answer to future wars. I say “contributes to” because I think Robinson’s understanding of the problem and proposed solution is more nuanced than that, but she still doesn’t seem to accept the centrality of combined arms forces in future wars. This view is apparently shared by Ignatius and even General Votel at CENTCOM.
In the crudest sense, this view stems from the overblown publicity that has surrounded years of night raids by the door kickers of Delta, the SEALs and Rangers. Not only do these high speed, low drag operations sell books, but they have influenced a generation of commanders, think tankers and Pentagon bureaucrats to put their faith in SOF.
This is beyond wild. First I've been beating on the drum that SOCOM seemed to be drunk on their own publicity. Do you remember this video of McRaven telling an old skool Special Forces General to basically shut up when he told him to get his people out of the news (at the 3:16 mark)?
For better or worse both the Bush Jr and Obama admin over used SOCOM and their leadership did nothing to stop it. Even worse were all the tell all books and movies that were made about their exploits....quiet professionals it seems was (at the time) a thing of the past
Second, I find it funny that a reporter would write such an article. This isn't Ignatius usual beat either. He is a Washington insider so I have to wonder out loud if this story wasn't planted by either a Think Tank pushing their latest agenda or even SOCOM itself in a budget play.
Last, I'm pleased that the Army is making moves to revitalize its combined arms teams. Everyone knows but no one is saying aloud the two things that make the raid, raid and only raids mentality dangerous. Terrorist organizations especially in the Middle East are looking more and more like nation state armies. As a matter of fact when ISIS started its offensive it routed the Iraqi Army and took their gear making them more than a guerilla group...they actually became a threat to their nation from the start. Which brings me to the last uncomfortable truth. Special Operations are vulnerable to conventional forces. It's in every manual I've ever read. If its changed then I'd like to know the rationale but history is littered with Special Ops going up against conventional formations and getting mauled.
We've reached a point where we must protect the military from itself...or at least the Think Tanks, Reporters pushing an agenda and Leadership looking for a quick fix.
The never quit attitude and the accept any mission stance is going to get good people killed unless someone with a bit of moral courage assumes control.
Wow. A whole bunch of nice touches on this kitbash between Star Trek Voyager, Star Trek, and the new Star Trek Movies. Awesome how he integrated a couple of "Navy" items too. Were those dual railguns on the front? I assume turreted lasers? The weirdest and coolest part was the SH-60 on the fantail/shuttle docking area!
Head over to CMR to read his take on these missiles but they appear to be much larger than the missiles they're replacing.
Isn't it interesting? The US hasn't developed a new air to air missile in a few decades. Admittedly it's done a few upgrades of the AIM-120 but I wonder if that's gonna be enough.
Could placing all our eggs in the stealth basket come back to haunt us? Will advances in missiles, AESA, and electronic warfare end up making that one advantage irrelevant? The US Navy seems to think so. If they're right then the USAF and USMC are screwed...not to mention the nation.
The Saudi-backed Hadi loyalist launched an offensive inside the Al-Jawf Governorate of northern Yemen, Saturdy, targeting the Houthi positions the Anbara Mountains near the KSA’s border.
Despite air support from Saudi jets, the Hadi loyalists were unable to make any headway in the Anbara Mountains, Saturday, as their forces ended up losing several combatants as a result of this attack.
According to Houthi media, their forces managed to destroy several armored vehicles during the massive retreat by the Hadi loyalists.
The Saudi-backed forces have repeatedly attempted to bypass the Houthi defenses in this region; however, they have failed every time.
Wow.
Between this and the issue with the Qatar, Saudi Arabia is having a real bad time of it lately. Mountains. As bad as cities are for modern forces I believe mountains might be worse.
The Royal Marines have the right concept and we need to build on it. Mountain Leaders/Arctic Specialist are a nice start. Every Marine Regiment should have on-call a Mountain Leader, Jungle Expert, Urban Operations Specialist, HA/DR Coordinator etc....I imagine that's the job of the Marine Gunner but they're unicorns. They're rumored to exist but few have seen them (well until Gunner Wade started putting up videos).
That future fight is gonna be one for the ages. What we've seen in the desert for the last decade plus has been a sad warm up for what's coming next.
