The F-35 FMC Dispatch Rates are dismal. Parts are hard to come by, and they’re not done testing the aircraft, so other issues will appear on the horizon. What is currently being dealt with are dozens of glitches that are defined as ‘Critical’ to resolve for the plane to be combat capable. Concurrency during the acquisition of military aircraft should never be approved, nor should open-ended contracts that allow costs to increase beyond acceptable levels. We must give knowledgeable people a voice in the process of developing and purchasing such aircraft. Mr. Sprey was quite prescient in his predictions about this plane. Mr. Wheeler was also an ardent critic of both the concept and the resulting aircraft.
Back in the early days of the Space Shuttle, when the ALT (Approach and Landing Test) phase was underway, I heard from one of the Shuttle test pilots that the system would not be cost effective, and that the “You Call, We Haul” concept applied to the Shuttle’s commercial value was pure fantasy. Our taxes should not be wasted on such a misguided hubris.