Is the $400 Billion F-35's 'Brain' Broken? (cnn.com)

Zachary Cohen, reporting for CNN News: Almost 2,500 of the world's most advanced warplanes, with a total price tag of $400 billion, and they may not have a "brain" in the bunch? That's the fear of federal watchdogs who say problems with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter's complex logistics software system could lead to a grounding of the entire fleet, not to mention future cost increases and schedule delays. Documenting risks to the F-35's Autonomic Logistics Information System, which Department of Defense officials have described as the "brains" of the fifth-generation fighter, an April 14 Government Accountability Office report says a failure "could take the entire fleet offline," (PDF) in part, due to the lack of a backup system. The report also outlines concerns related to the lack of testing done to ensure the software will work properly by the time the Air Force plans to declare its version of the aircraft ready for deployment this August and the Navy reaches that milestone in 2018. The Marine Corps declared the first squadron of its F-35 variant ready for combat in July 2015, with the intention of upgrading and resolving the software issues before its first planned deployment in 2017.

Comments

giant boondoggle is giant boondoggle

[Anonymous Coward]

Amazing how that isn't clear to everyone by now.

Re:giant boondoggle is giant boondoggle

[msauve]

The US spends more on the military than the next 12 countries combined . Those who want a strong military would do better to make them more efficient in their spending, rather than increasing it. And, the US military budget could easily be cut in half without losing a bit of security against the current bogeyman.

Eisenhower warned about the dangers of the military-industrial complex, and he was right. The national debt is a greater threat to the country than any foreign foe.

Re:Back in the 20th century when it began

[ColdWetDog]

Shhhh. His basement is whatever he wants it to be.

Don't mess up his day.