Two British F-35s Are Stuck on an Island in the Atlantic - The National Interest https://share.google/5Fw2A82yNp0RlsCpC
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Two obvious questions arise.
- Why the failure rate?
- Why the time to repair is so great? Problems with diagnosing or parts procurment?
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Probably to do far more with the RAF enjoying a half-decent hotel!
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Don’t blame the plane-the article says the problem is a lack of spare parts.
if I was a cynical person I’d say the RAF doesn’t dig in, they check in lol
Wouldn’t stop the guys at the Australian Armor museum.
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UK Successive governments spending and no preparation for international crises, have created this situation. We all ways go for the least costly solution.
Removing AGM HARPOON MISSILES from all the RN Ships and no replacements
F-35 no back up spare parts lack of management and underinvestment
Aircraft Carriers a complete utter disaster from their commission constantly needing repairs
Poseidon aircraft again the lease costly option for the RAF no wing weapons operation I think we are the only country that has Nott taken this option.
The Challenger 3 two few to make a difference we really should have gone with Leopard 2
To summarise our armed forces have been decimated and are incapable of defending the country.
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Is there the remotest chance we can stop the self-flagellation right here, and now? It doesn’t read well does it? Let’s leave the denigration of the country for other fora.
I understand where you’re coming from, I really do; after all, I’m the one considering emigrating, but let’s just give it a rest eh, and perish the thought, discuss models and modelling.
Just a suggestion.
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Nah, you’d miss the place! Besides, wherever you go, you’ll have us Armorama folk on your tail… 
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The late John Nott certainly would have, were he still Secretary of State for Defence as he was in the lead-up to, and during, the Falklands war; although his contention the RN required only two aircraft carriers and a mere FIFTY destroyers/frigates does seem optimistic in hindsight… He did see things differently in the remaining months of his political career.
You omitted the cancellation of the Warrior upgrade and the persistence with the acquisition of the Ajax - based systems, based on the assurances the problems could be fixed…
M
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I left quite a considerable amount out of of the conversation as the list was long Sadly.
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I had to Explain why the UK F-35 situation was Systemic in our Military History.
Not political I love being British 
Hmm. A plane that requires a million man hours of maintenance per hour of flight and really expensive parts only available through the manufacturer. And we are broke. Yeah. Let’s buy a few of those on credit and hang the fate of our entire nation on em. I am totally jazzed with this plan.
Don’t feel bad. All the western nations will be there pretty soon. What do you mean you will not take my credit card? 
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Most of the F-35 spare parts and maintenance has to go through Lockheed Martin…that’s how Lockheed makes their money…and most of the spare parts can’t be delivered fast and efficiently because the transport method of moving a small or 50-pound spare part requires a (military) cargo aircraft compared to an inexpensive unmanned drone.
The F-35s are plagued with software update issues, meaning that they’re running sort of outdated software that doesn’t incorporate the latest weapons and defensive systems upgrades such as the Block 4 software update. The software updates are years behind in coding and implementation, and they’re probably somewhat buggy because computer programmers know that the best companies to program for are the Dot-Coms (free meals, free shuttle buses, stocks, perks, great working environments, younger workers), not the Defense companies.
Furthermore, F-35 construction and parts are a NATO effort, with parts made in many countries that have to be shipped securely via giant cargo planes, not cheap unmanned drones.
The John Deere business model, with anything more than minor maintenance requiring that the work be done by the manufacturer or their licensed subcontractor.
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This is the way of modern defense contractors. The money is in the maintenance and upgrades, not the initial purchase.
one would expect that a client the size of the US government would have the needed leverage to change the ways?
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Well the congress likes it when they can show they are getting a low profit deal in buying the initial product. They realize it will have to pay the real costs in the after purchase services.
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Could they? Yes. But they did not. I was recently talking with an acquaintance who works in aerospace and was at one point involved in the F-35 program. Apparently with the way that the F-35 contract was written, it has soured the powers that be on any more contracts coming Lockheed Martin’s way in the near future. Northrop Grumman (B-21, RQ-180, X-47) and Boeing (F-15EX & F-47) stand to benefit in the near term as a result.
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The deal they get will be no better with Boeing or Gruman. All the companies realize the profit is in aftersales support. The continuing complexity of newer systems almost always requires contractor support. I suspect the unmanned aircraft will require more manufacturer support than the F35.
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