As the dust settles on the Senate's F-22 vote, Congressional Quarterly's Josh Rogin reports that Capitol Hill is starting to look more critically at the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. So far, the JSF has led a charmed life - but now, a coalition of adversaries is emerging, centered around supporters of the F/A-18 and F-22.
The essence of the attack is not new. It was reported last year that a Joint Estimating Team (JET), comprising people with experience in other flight-test programs, had predicted a two-year delay beyond the current schedule, which sets the completion of operational testing in 2014. The Government Accountability Office cited the JET's conclusions in its March report. Neither is it news that the JSF program office does not agree with the JET.
What is new, however, is that Congress is complaining that not even a redacted version of the JET report has been issued, possibly tilting the F-22 debate and making it much easier for program insiders to dismiss the JET's conclusions. Also, some of the people who played a leading role in the official response to the JET, including acquisition chief John Young, have left the Pentagon.
It could also be a little harder now to persuade Congress that all is tickety-boo with the flight-test schedule. As we noted in March, the FY2009 goal for the JSF program was 317 sorties. The total so far (excluding the CATBird test bed) is more like 30 flights, with a little more than two months to go.
Funny that you mention the F-22, and that is why it is relevant! CatBird was first used for the F-22 program, and it still went on to do extensive flight testing. Flight testing is still required, period! The same methodical flight testing, and follow up analysis still occurs throughout the industry, now assisted with computers. This testing methodology dates back to the Wright Brothers first flights, and it works and saves lives.
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You're forgetting something: we can't let reality get in the way of the party line. Regardless of safety, if it does not agree with the projected F-35 schedule, it obviously isn't worth it. We can't have anything conflicting with the OSD Official Truth (TM).
jhae22 - You may just be right about the 'party line' and their 'alternate realities'.
We have asked Bubba who reckons the biggest risk to the JSF program is "people asking questions"!
Some of the questions that have been asked can be found at the end of this link.
Don't quite understand why they have not had the decency to answer. Maybe just to busy spinning . . . or could it be they are running out of spin?
http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-NOTAM-190209-1.html