Philip Hammond shrugs off US criticisms of Joint Strike Fighter

July 19th, 2012

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

“We’ve got past the phase where the focus was getting the plane flying and
proving it, and we’re now at the stage where the customer is seeking to
drive the cost down,” Mr Hammond said.

The GAO report paints a very different picture, however, warning that it would
be “years” before it was clear if the F-35B would work as planned. It warned
that engineering changes would continue at “elevated levels into 2019” –
which is three years after Britain takes delivery of its first F-35Bs

Although tests had demonstrated basic air-worthiness, the report continued,
more difficult testing, including “low-altitude” and “high angle” attacks
had not started, with testing of a fully operational aircraft not expected
until 2015 “at the earliest”.

Britain is scheduled to take delivery of its first aircraft for land-based
operations in 2016, before beginning carrier training in 2018, with a view
to having a fully operational carrier-based aircraft in 2020, Mr Hammond
said.

The GAO report also raises concerns about 24 million lines of software code
that will needed to create a hyper-advanced, futuristic fighter aircraft
where pilots will see all the information they require projected onto the
inside of the visors of their helmets.

The auditors found that the helmet “continues to have significant technical
deficiencies”, making it “less functional” even than existing equipment,
forcing the manufacturers to supply a “less capable” helmet while spending
$80 (GBP50m) trying to fix the original design.

In terms of engineering the GAO says that only two of the five structural
problems – including bulkhead cracking and overheating – which forced the
jump-jet F-35B version to be put on probation last year have been properly
fixed, with three other issues being given only temporary solutions.

“Assessing whether the deficiencies have been resolved in ongoing and, in some
cases, will not be known for years,” the report added.

Mr Hammond said such problems were to be expected with such a “fantastically
complex” airplane, and that he was confident that the JSF, which is a key
part of the future planning for the US Marine Corps, would eventually work.

“I’m not saying all the work’s been done, all the hitches have been ironed out
– of course they haven’t – – there’s lots of development work lots still to
do,” he concluded, “Maybe some of the sceptics will change their minds when
they see it fly.”