When It Comes to Supersonic Flight, the F-35’s Wings Are Clipped

It seems we've been down this route in the past and now we are down it again. People get enamored with the idea of creating one weapons platform that can fulfill several roles and think it will be less expensive with a simpler supply chain.

What we always seem to end up with is a weapons platform that is mediocre in all those roles and ends up costing more to create and maintain than if we just made special purpose systems.

One would imagine for $100 million per pop, they would be the baddest plane ever made. The Air Force generals orgasmed at over a plane that cant provide air to ground support like the A-10 or fly as fast as the F-22. Just to put it in perspective. The Germans built the ME 262 that was close to flying at supersonic speed in WWII.

Yet another example of shelling out money and not getting what you paid for. The article says that it wasn't one of the core strengths envisioned, and to that end okay roger that. But if you're going to add that feature and you know program is costing a lot of damn money, you ought to make sure it works. Not just restrict Marine and Navy aviators to how long they can fly supersonic, but make it a sustainable feature.