<story><title>F-35 can’t be found after pilot ejected</title><url>https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/f-35-cant-be-found-after-pilot-ejected</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>kunwon1</author><text>I&amp;#x27;m no expert on aircraft procurement or government contracts (I&amp;#x27;m an engineer who used to work on fighter jets) - that being said, it&amp;#x27;s my understanding that the F-35 is actually a very successful project, and a very affordable one at that. I haven&amp;#x27;t got any citations or evidence to present, I could be wrong about all of this, it&amp;#x27;s a topic I&amp;#x27;ve got only casual knowledge about.&lt;p&gt;A broad overview of my understanding of the situation: Most critics are making unfair comparisons (e.g. criticizing the F-35 for its inability to dogfight, or comparing its cost to 4th generation fighters, rather than its 5th generation peers)&lt;p&gt;This argument is further complicated by (as I understand it) a general lack of knowledge in the west concerning the true cost of Russian and Chinese 5th generation fighters (PAK FA and Su-57)&lt;p&gt;All of that being said, I think this is a heavily politicized topic, and I can never discount the possibility that I&amp;#x27;ve been hoodwinked when it comes to such matters.</text></item><item><author>btbuildem</author><text>An 80&amp;#x27;s movie dream is playing out for some rural kids, where they stumble upon a smouldering high-tech wreckage and as they explore it, men in suits pour out of black SUVs and talk to them in taciturn ways.&lt;p&gt;Seriously though, these jets sound terribly overpriced for how unreliable they seem to be.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>SonicScrub</author><text>&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.aviacionline.com&amp;#x2F;2022&amp;#x2F;01&amp;#x2F;f-35-cheaper-than-the-gripen&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow noreferrer&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.aviacionline.com&amp;#x2F;2022&amp;#x2F;01&amp;#x2F;f-35-cheaper-than-the-g...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;Specific figures will differ depending on how exactly one calculates acquisition costs. These numbers differ depending on the acquiring country, the block numbers, etc. But as rule of thumb the F-35 cost is roughly 10 million USD cheaper than the much less capable Gripen. This is notable as the Gripen is being marketed as the cheaper alternative. The F-35 has much higher operational costs (mostly due to the costs of maintaining stealth coating), but here&amp;#x27;s the opinion of the Finish and Swiss governments on full life-cycle costs from the article:&lt;p&gt;&amp;gt; However, both the Swiss and Finnish authorities argued that the F-35 was the best cost&amp;#x2F;benefit investment, if its full life-cycle economics were taken into account.</text></comment>
<story><title>F-35 can’t be found after pilot ejected</title><url>https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/f-35-cant-be-found-after-pilot-ejected</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>kunwon1</author><text>I&amp;#x27;m no expert on aircraft procurement or government contracts (I&amp;#x27;m an engineer who used to work on fighter jets) - that being said, it&amp;#x27;s my understanding that the F-35 is actually a very successful project, and a very affordable one at that. I haven&amp;#x27;t got any citations or evidence to present, I could be wrong about all of this, it&amp;#x27;s a topic I&amp;#x27;ve got only casual knowledge about.&lt;p&gt;A broad overview of my understanding of the situation: Most critics are making unfair comparisons (e.g. criticizing the F-35 for its inability to dogfight, or comparing its cost to 4th generation fighters, rather than its 5th generation peers)&lt;p&gt;This argument is further complicated by (as I understand it) a general lack of knowledge in the west concerning the true cost of Russian and Chinese 5th generation fighters (PAK FA and Su-57)&lt;p&gt;All of that being said, I think this is a heavily politicized topic, and I can never discount the possibility that I&amp;#x27;ve been hoodwinked when it comes to such matters.</text></item><item><author>btbuildem</author><text>An 80&amp;#x27;s movie dream is playing out for some rural kids, where they stumble upon a smouldering high-tech wreckage and as they explore it, men in suits pour out of black SUVs and talk to them in taciturn ways.&lt;p&gt;Seriously though, these jets sound terribly overpriced for how unreliable they seem to be.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>mrtksn</author><text>All that might turn out to be irrelevant as the drones prove detrimental in a warfare.&lt;p&gt;With the advancements in AI in recent years, it will probably get harder and harder to justify carrying a biological being and all the support systems onboard. At some point, a warplane capabilities might become irrelevant and the only important aspect would the the implications of carrying a solder onboard and making the downing of the device much more politically significant than downing a drone.</text></comment>