Re: @Ledswinger
"So we really should be asking: WTF are we doing wrong?"
Simple
In the F-35 project, research and production have been allowed to run side by side, with problems found during the build requiring new basic R&D
Historically aircraft companies would build pure research designs, the results of which may get incorporated into production designs. With the F-35 that was deliberately curtailed so that the production model IS the research project. Hence the extended lead time.
Everything about the F-35 is new an experimental. New engine, new vertical lift fan, new airframe using new materials and new construction methods, totally new avionics, completely new sensor suite, new fully integrated helmet, all requiring new software. All new, all likely to go wrong. And then you add to it the new development process itself, and the new oversight methods..........
Biting the hand that feeds IT
