Some pessimists... but LM to catch up delay and usualy deliver 5 birds by month so surely the double these last 2 months so problem remains minor but able to do the job !
And if LM is able to reach the 80 mill $ price for a F-35A it is really cheaper remains to know if it is the true price normaly fly away but some say a part of the material is not included coz as ships a part is ordered in advance.
Jura's claims especialy
80 million is a very hopeful goal for the A model,, will they make it, can they make it??
I really don't know, but I'm in support of the F-35 because it is capable, and those capabilities are worth the money. I support it because I am aware of the actual threat, I'm aware that Surface to Air Missiles have improved tremendously since the 60s, and I well remember the wild weasel missions, and the heroes that flew them, and the price they paid..
So 80 million is a LOT of money for 1 airplane, but I would much rather pay 80 million for an aircraft that is survivable, than 60 million for an aircraft that's incapable and vulnerable..
Lockheed Martin has a winner on its hands, they deserve it because they have been "delivering" the goods for well over a half century,,, their amazing C-130 Hercules came into its own the year I was born, and they continue to serve and roll out the door, because they are the best.. I know that first hand as my own DAD LOVED that airplane from the A model through the E model.
He stepped off the C-123, C-119, and walked up those steps onto the flight deck of the worlds most powerful airlifter! never looked back, never said, "boy, I need more airplane!" he liked the C-141, might have been a little impressed?? with the C-5A. He could have easily flown either one of those birds?? but had no desire.
My Dad flew the MC-130E, Combat Talon I in Vietnam from the late summer of 67, through the late summer of 68,, it was indeed one of two first "Black Birds",,, terrain following radar, and 400 plus pounds of black radar absorbing coatings, they went anywhere they needed to go....hairy?? scary??, Yep, all the above, but LockMart had a ride that would bring you home again, and that friend for me is "personal"!
I DID NOT LIKE the F-35 at all, I HATED it with a passion when it displaced the Raptor! really I did not like it, thought it was ugly,,, its not.. but this airplane had to win my heart, and as Jeff has stated it has,, by the time AF-2 had completed the high A-O-A testing,, I am sold, and the Green Flag/Red Flag exercises have proven that this airplane is a winner!
and I like each of these aircraft, the B model will turn those helicopter haulers into real aircraft carriers, the C model will make the US NAVY the most dangerous, far reaching force on the Planet,, we NEED those aircraft... any of the anticipated OP-FOR aircraft are extremely vulnerable to this aircraft, I wouldn't say its invincible, its not, but its so far ahead of anything else on the planet, and its a game changer, it has capabilities that will make the Raptor jealous, so yes, it is a very good "bang for the buck"!
