The new Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Adam Smith, has termed the F-35 joint strike fighter a ‘rathole.’ He has suggested stopping the project’s funding with an immediate effect and has proposed investing in a range of jets.’
5th of March saw this rather important conversation between the congressman and the Brookings institution. Smith believes that F-35 isn’t that effective and asks for hefty costs to maintain it. In an official statement, Smith said, “I want to stop throwing money particularly for that rathole.”
He said that F-35 is an overly priced defensive platform with unimpressive capabilities. Maintaining it is another trip to hell is what the congressman thinks on its general maintenance works. He proposed the only solution is to invest in various fighter jets to give the defense department other effective options.
The Smith’s party is heavily relying on the F-15EX Eagle and F/A-18E/F developed by Boeing. These aircraft could compete for the final spot against Lockheed Martin-produced F-35’s.
The questionable thing here is that if the F-35 is actually a ‘Rathole.’ The congressman’s comments come right after allegations that the F-35 is not an effective or affordable fighter jet. The reports are also that the U.S authorities are testing a new fighter jet after knowing that F-35’s might not prove beneficial.
The F-35 joint strike fighter is an overly ambitious attempt because it aims to replace numerous disparate fighters with a single and simpler airframe.
Many of the F-35’s problems are well known and documented. The three versions of the F-35 jet, the A version for the Air force, the B version for Marine corps, and the C version for Marines, are late in entering service due to some major faults. Unfortunately, those faults and shortcomings still hold tight in their final produced version. Moreover, it asks for tons of cost per hour flight, more than any other fighter aircraft ever been in service.
The new fighter, the F-35, still lacks testing and lingering issues to its name. Those are to be catered for before the aircraft enters service in its full-fledged glory.
Its development began in the early 2000s and hence followed the old base structure design. To finalize the aircraft took more than two decades, and it still has loads of issues that need to be entertained before equipping the military with the long-awaited F-35’s.
Even after considering all the prevailing bugs and issues with the F-35’s, it still is out of the question to cancel the program completely. This specific F-35 program has taken a lot from Americans if talking about the money spent on this program.
It replaces many of the older fighter jet models, which don’t have any other alternative replacements. The other feasible option is to develop alternative jets, which in itself would require greater costs, and with the defense budget being flat for the coming decade, that seems to be a far-fetched dream as well.