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

 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.