AAA THE F-35 IS A LEMON PIERRE SPREY (RUNAWAY FIGHTER) FIFTH ESTATE EXTENDED INTERVW
Why Hacker News recommends it
Posted in F-35 threads as an insider's critique from a legendary aircraft designer.
What it is
An extended Fifth Estate interview with Pierre Sprey, designer of the A-10 and a key figure behind the F-16, arguing the F-35 is an over-engineered, expensive failure.
Recommended by 1 HN commenters across 1 different months, 2014 to 2015.
What Hacker News said
Recommends frou_dh · 2014-03 · on “Dark spot under cockpit of A-10s”
I don't know how accurate it is, but I remember this entertaining video of A-10 designer Pierre Sprey talking about how the new F-35 is garbage: [this video] Themes of bloat and unwarranted complexity are perhaps universal.
Cites rkowalick · 2014-07 · on “U.S. military grounds F-35 Joint Strike Fighter after fire”
Whenever the F-35 is mentioned, I am reminded of this interview with the designer of the F-16 about the concepts behind the design of the F-35: [this video]
Cites mmaunder · 2014-07 · on “U.S. military grounds F-35 Joint Strike Fighter after fire”
We need the same kind of innovation in the jet fighter sector as we're seeing by SpaceX in orbital launches. The F-35 is a disaster because it was designed by committee and has ended up being good for nothing. The body is wide because it had to accommodate the vertical takeoff jet and nozzle and the wings had to be short. This makes it horrible for dog-fights, a fuel consumption pig, unable to loiter over an area, unable to provide close air support. The fact that it's stealth is debatable too. There have been instances where low frequency radar has been repurposed to detect stealth aircraft like the F117 shot down over Serbia. Basically nothing can hide from L-band radar (1 to 2 Ghz). [VIDE
Cites cipher0 · 2014-07 · on “The Pentagon's $399 Billion Plane to Nowhere”
Pierre Sprey (F-16's designer) on the F-35 "The F-35 was born of an exceptionally dumb piece of airforce PR spin" [this video]
Cites Guthur · 2014-12 · on “Luke AFB changes refueling truck color, mitigates F-35 shutdowns”
IMO another example of how the F-35 is an over specified, over engineered and expensive turkey. And here is a comment by someone who knows a lot more than I do. [this video]
Cites skeuomorf · 2015-04 · on “The F-35's $400k helmet”
While the technology in this helmet may turn out to be pretty great, I still can't view the project as a whole (The F-35) as more than a failure. It's taken them a lot of time and money to develop a mediocre aircraft, here's Pierre Sprey's opinion on it (Designer of the F-16) "The F-35 was born of an exceptionally dumb piece of airforce PR spin" [this video]