Pierre Sprey & (ret.) Lt Col David 'Chip' Berke have a debate on the F-35 [long video]

Defense analyst who was in part responsible for the F-16 and F/A-18, vs Lt Col with shit to sell to the American public. Sorry, but I'll always take Sprey's side. The government is horrible at actually predicting what they need, and what to procure.

The F-35 has been a total boondoggle, and fills a role that we don't really have a need for. We aren't fighting China or Russia, and the chance of direct confrontation is extremely low. Long wavelength radars are already under heavy development, and will be able to detect stealth aircraft easily, and electronic countermeasures will make stealth design obsolete anyway, allowing other countries to build high performance aircraft without making design concessions to keep it stealth.

And trying to build one platform to do everything is an exercise in futility, as we have already learned several times but most poignantly from the F-111 program. The only combat aircraft that have ever been able to suit the needs of all major branches have been purpose built Navy planes that have found use in other branches (A-7 Corsair II, F-4 Phantom, SBD Dauntless).

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