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Future of Tactical Aviation & the JSF

Delta7

Delta7

Member
A friend of mine who works for Boeing forwarded an email today with an updated version of the Congressional Research Service (CRS) report on the F-35/Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).

Interesting and disturbing report given the funding trainwreck that appears to be coming. Also found a more generic look at tactical aviation modernization, which provides a broader view of the challenges ahead.

Here are the links for online versions of the reports:

1. Tactical Aircraft Modernization
2. F-35/JSF: Background, Status, and Issues

The # 2 link is to an October 2007 version of the report. I received the August 2008 version from my friend. If anyone would like the latest version, send me a private message and I'll email you a copy.

Here's a quote from that latest report that got my attention:

"A final option to address the projected fighter gap would be to do nothing. By sticking with the current fighter aircraft procurement plans, DOD may end up reducing the overall inventory of combat aircraft. This may be a risk that is worth taking, considering other U.S. aviation capabilities such as bombers, cruise missiles, and armed-UAVs, and the lack of perceived threats. On the other hand, today’s relatively large inventory of fighter aircraft is well-worn from excessive use. There is no reason to think that tomorrow’s smaller fighter aircraft inventory would not experience equally high operations tempo."
​
Given Congress' proven ability to "do nothing," that option may just end up being what we're stuck with.

Cheers,
John​
 
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