Interesting article on Air & Space mag about the F-35 8


 One of the main arguments for creating a single aircraft type to try and serve the needs of air forces, navies and marines was the cost savings that could be achieved in terms of training, service and spare parts. But are these forces setting themselves up for a massive failure.

While this certainly makes sense for civilian aviation where airlines like Southwest have demonstrated the advantage of using one aircraft type for all needs (Southwest's entire 571 plane fleet consists of Boeing 737s) it may not actually be such a great idea for a military force. 

By using the F-35 for so many applications, the US military along with 10 other countries are creating a fighter monoculture. 

_“We all show up tomorrow with the same kit,” says Lieutenant General André Deschamps, chief of Canada’s air staff, “the same software, same everything. The procedures are the same, the training’s the same."_ 

In this age of increasing cyber warfare, having the same control software across so many fleets may actually be a liability. These modern planes have live data links back to base and amongst each other to transmit intelligence in real-time. If/when there is a flaw, it could potentially be exploited to ground the entire fleet in one shot. Monocultures are never a good thing and I don't think this is a good place to start.

The Ultimate Fighter?
With the F-35, Lockheed Martin takes a turn trying to make one combat plane that can do everything.

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8 thoughts on “Interesting article on Air & Space mag about the F-35

  • Juan Carlos Bagnell

    In a bizarre way, this better cements the rise of drones. Get the rest of the world in a fighter monoculture, then switch over to unmanned fighters.
    I seriously doubt this is actually the plan, but it makes for an interesting side effect.

  • Kelly Bradley

    Yeah, I understand why they think this is such a great idea, but someone should send them a large Swiss Army knife, an iPhone, a Pontiac Aztek with the camper option, insist they use these in every way they are intended for a couple of months, then report back.

    They will all SUCK at all but a couple of things, and even those will be mediocre, at best.

  • Kelly Bradley

    Yeah, I understand why they think this is such a great idea, but someone should send them a large Swiss Army knife, an iPhone, a Pontiac Aztek with the camper option, insist they use these in every way they are intended for a couple of months, then report back.

    They will all SUCK at all but a couple of things, and even those will be mediocre, at best.

  • Dave Gunderson

    I've been on the factory floor at the plant in Ft. Worth. This plane is damned impressive (also damned expensive). Components are made world wide and assembled in Ft. Worth. The most interesting thing was the air-frame construction of composite materials. The exacting specifications maintained during manufacturing. I think of the maintenance requirements of this aircraft and shudder… The skill-set of the support crews will be enormous. I just cannot envision an Airman or Lance Corporal being the supporter. The man-hours required per flight hour will be the main costs of this Weapons system. Life was so much easier when I was in the Military and we were flying F-4's…

  • Dave Gunderson

    I've been on the factory floor at the plant in Ft. Worth. This plane is damned impressive (also damned expensive). Components are made world wide and assembled in Ft. Worth. The most interesting thing was the air-frame construction of composite materials. The exacting specifications maintained during manufacturing. I think of the maintenance requirements of this aircraft and shudder… The skill-set of the support crews will be enormous. I just cannot envision an Airman or Lance Corporal being the supporter. The man-hours required per flight hour will be the main costs of this Weapons system. Life was so much easier when I was in the Military and we were flying F-4's…