Software shortcomings, spare parts shortages and corrosion problems meant only about one in four F-35 stealth fighters were ready to conduct all possible missions at any given time in fiscal 2025, according to a new Government Accountability Office report cited by Air & Space Forces Magazine.
Do we want the modern equivalent of WW2 German equipment that work spectacularly when available and properly functioning, or American and to an extent Soviet equipment that wasn’t amazing in comparison but was available, with a whole domestic mass production ecosystem ready behind it?
Do we really want fighter jets that only perform well when the supplier country is happy with us, which could change every 4 years? It could do everything you’d ever want a fighter jet to do but if it’s not there when you need then its capabilities don’t really matter.
Look at the Strait of Hormuz and the US Navy. They have modular and multifunctional ships, can clear mines, move fast, hold their own against other ships, deliver some cargo, fight against submarines, and do most stuff you’d want with a war ship by changing out the modules.
Yet with the moron-in-chief being totally unprepared for the Epstein Fury operation he was roped into by Israel expecting an easy win, didn’t have enough of those all-capable ships in the area to be able to clear mines or escort other ships if needed, which was by my read of the situation, a large part of the reason behind the initial insurance shock.
I’d say drones
Big, fuck-off shiny ones