I saw this on Yahoo news (link ) and I know we've discussed this before but I can't help shaking my head.
The left-leaning and libertarian mindset is usually why are we spending money on this stuff anyway. The authoritarian mindset might be "Hey, they know what they're doing."
I wish they didn't spend this much money and one of my most valuable life-lessons I've learned is that you never assume that somebody knows what they are doing. Another in my experience invaluable life-lessons is that you can't be great at everything. This applies to technology too, maybe especially to technology.
The A-10 Warthog is an ugly plane that the Air-Force brass doesn't particularly like because it's a dedicated tank-killer. It's the best thing there is for destroying tanks, enemy artillery, even enemy trains or trucks. It's in-your-face close air support with so many backups that it can fly home with a third of itself shot off.
The F-22 was the greatest air-superiority fighter ever devised, there is nothing better for air-to-air combat. It's already been discontinued.
The F-35 is a white elephant that is continuously costing more than it's supposed to. The plane is supposed to replace all kinds of planes, including taking over the role the F-22 was supposed to fill and the A-10s current role. I guarantee it's going to do both jobs worse. We'd be better off buying some of the new Russian fighters and upgrading the electronics, it would be better at probably 1/3 the price.
The left-leaning and libertarian mindset is usually why are we spending money on this stuff anyway. The authoritarian mindset might be "Hey, they know what they're doing."
I wish they didn't spend this much money and one of my most valuable life-lessons I've learned is that you never assume that somebody knows what they are doing. Another in my experience invaluable life-lessons is that you can't be great at everything. This applies to technology too, maybe especially to technology.
The A-10 Warthog is an ugly plane that the Air-Force brass doesn't particularly like because it's a dedicated tank-killer. It's the best thing there is for destroying tanks, enemy artillery, even enemy trains or trucks. It's in-your-face close air support with so many backups that it can fly home with a third of itself shot off.
The F-22 was the greatest air-superiority fighter ever devised, there is nothing better for air-to-air combat. It's already been discontinued.
The F-35 is a white elephant that is continuously costing more than it's supposed to. The plane is supposed to replace all kinds of planes, including taking over the role the F-22 was supposed to fill and the A-10s current role. I guarantee it's going to do both jobs worse. We'd be better off buying some of the new Russian fighters and upgrading the electronics, it would be better at probably 1/3 the price.
