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0 pointsforapurpose7y ago0 comments

> Dogfighting is still very much a thing and every operational fighter needs to be competent in close air combat.

I did go a bit too far with my first sentence, but what you say about the F-35's effectiveness is much different than what I read from experts, who generally seem to see it as a very complex system, maturing, but with excellent potential.

In fairness, I stated my credentials (none) and cited someone with credentials. Do you have any, or is the above based on knowledge from anyone who does have them?

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hluska7y ago· 1 in thread

First, I did not say that the F-35 was a lost cause. It might be maturing, though it doesn't seem to be maturing very quickly.

There is a position within the Pentagon called the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation. This position requires a senate confirmation and serves as the Secretary of Defense's senior adviser on weapon's testing. I hope to hell that he (every DOT&E has been male, so that's not gendered language) is qualified.

The current DOT&E (Robert F. Behler) is a former Air Force test pilot who reached the rank of Major General over the course of a 30+ year military career. He has a couple of masters degrees and amongst other interesting jobs, was COO and Deputy Director of Carnegie Mellon's Software Engineering Institute. He has held the title since December 2017.

In 2016, the DOT&E annual report contained all the problems that I related in my answer to you and many, many others. You should give it a read - it's online and written in remarkably clear language. The 2017 annual report wasn't much better. It essentially said that they were finding deficiencies faster than they were being fixed and in its current state, the F-35 would not be suitable for combat.

forapurposeOP7y ago

Thanks for the suggested reading! That kind of content is what makes HN great.

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