America needs the F-35 for defense

F-35 Lightning II

I'm headed to another anti-NATO rally today in Chicago. So now is as good of as time as any to declare that I believe that a strong national defense is vital to our nation. And we need planes such as the F-35.

From a Washington Times op-ed by By Gens. John D.W. Corley and William R. Looney III.

Although American warriors have returned from Iraq and many are re- turning from Afghanistan, our nation still faces serious and continuing security threats. The return - and painful loss - of U.S. combat troops should serve as a reminder that as a nation, we have a solemn duty to provide our military professionals with the best tools available to accomplish their missions at the lowest possible loss of life. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter falls squarely into that category.

Simply put, the multirole F-35 is a critical element in the struggle to safeguard national security. The most technically advanced multirole fighter aircraft in the world today, it represents an indispensable leap in capability and survivability over the current generation of fighters it is designed to replace. With advanced stealth and fully integrated avionics systems, the F-35 will enable pilots to penetrate into hostile territory, secure vital airspace or support ground forces with precision strike capabilities and then return safely.

Like other military systems procured over the past half-century, the F-35 is being tested, refined and produced simultaneously in a process known as "concurrency." By interrelating testing and production, the F-35 program achieves efficiencies that help control costs, drive refinements and speed the delivery of aircraft to our armed services. Concurrency has been a key element in the strategy for bringing this new aircraft into our nation's fighter force in a timely manner and at the lowest possible cost to the taxpayers - until now.

Unfortunately, today some argue that there is too much concurrency in the F-35 program and claim that production should remain at a low rate. Despite the fact that the program exceeded its flight test goals for 2011 and is ahead of the planned flight test goals for 2012, some contend the F-35 is not yet ready to begin high-rate production. This flawed argument injects significant operational risk above the already negative impacts from three previous years of program reductions that moved 425 aircraft deliveries to later years.

Related posts:

Pentagon's odd selling points for a fighter, the F-35 Lightning II, a jet it needs

F-35 is healthy for our defense

Technorati tags: business air force aviation military