The F-35 Fighter Plane...a short overview

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That's a billion dollars worth of late fighters you are lookin' at


  • This flying turkey was designed to be a single plane for the Air Force, Navy and Marines...a unified, 1 size fits all plane.
  • It was designed to provide economy of scale, spare parts/maintenance, etc., being great big long term costs.
  • It started out at about $100 million a copy. Now it is $160 million a copy.
  • The prototypes are five years late.
  • The entire program is now at about $350 billion for the planes but the total program cost is projected to be $1.5 TRILLION
  • The Rand Corporation just published a study saying that the premise, of a single fighter for all services (economy of scale) DOESN'T save any money and, in fact, may be more expensive and have detrimental effects on future innovation and development.
Hey. Why ruin a good thing.  This golden goose will lay eggs for years....but the cost of this drumstick is equal to food stamps for all who need them for the next 20 years.

Priorities.