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The US military's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft is proving to be a pain in the neck in more ways than one. Not only did the Pentagon spend almost $400 billion to buy 2,400 aircraft - about twice as much as it cost to put a man on the moon - the F-35 program is 7 years behind schedule and $163 billion over budget. This at a time when cuts in the defense budget are forcing the Pentagon to shrink the size of the military. CBS 60 Minutes took a closer look at the troubled fighter plane a few months back, but their rebroadcast on Sunday evening seems like as good a reason as any to revisit one of the biggest ongoing budget debacles in U.S. military memory. David Martin gets an inside look at what makes the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter the most expensive weapons system in history.
(Score: 1) by MostCynical on Monday June 02 2014, @08:57PM
Even with air-to-air refuelling, the f35 will have to refuel, perform its mission (including evasion and possible aerial combat), and return for refuelling (possible far) less than 1000km from the target.. Hardly ideal!
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex