F-35 costs double in 10 years

[old_gregg]

I've seen this comment around. Like haha this one little $20 tracker could solve what seems to be a massive, albeit rare, problem. The thing is there are a few problems with this line of thinking.

First, the F-35 program office could go to Apple Store and buy 1000 AirTags to put in all the F-35 planes. But then how would Lockheed/Boeing/Raytheon/Northrup or any of the other big primes make any money? Doesn't seem like that will work.

Second, they could maybe use one of the prime's to make the acquisition. The prime could get an SMB to make the purchase, tacking on a healthy passthrough. The SMB sells the AirTag to the govt at $19 (the only amount in which the prime's 70% pass-through is approved) and the prime gets to check off their SMB setaside quota.

Okay but Apple does source from China and that's, to use my favorite meaningless term, problematic. So the government could put out requirements for an AirTag equivalent product with strict Buy American Act provisions or, at a minimum, disclose whatever component was made at a factory that also produces Huawei or Hikvision products. Like how they do with peanuts and dairy. They should definitely use a prime for this project. So this way the prime can contract out the design, engineering, product development and manufacture of a much worse version of a $20 COTS item. But they can sell it to the government for thousands per tag and also require them to pay for perpetual support, at least a couple dozen butts in seats to support something so important.

Please next time before you make a joke next time please be considerate of the MIC. Jokes like this seem to imply it's okay that they won't make money from a transaction that would benefit the military. Too far, bro.

is this a david foster wallace chatgpt bot

[YOhio]

Anduril with a pretty impressive new weapons platform.

EDIT: Embedding isn't working so here's a direct link.

https://x.com/PalmerLuckey/status/17...716723906?s=20

[Bo Diddley]

Anduril with a pretty impressive new weapons platform.

EDIT: Embedding isn't working so here's a direct link.

https://x.com/PalmerLuckey/status/17...716723906?s=20

Pretty cool when you consider the possibilities.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Anduril with a pretty impressive new weapons platform.

EDIT: Embedding isn't working so here's a direct link.

https://x.com/PalmerLuckey/status/17...716723906?s=20

That is really cool. I don't get the return to base part. Is that in the circumstance that it doesn't contact a target?

Also, here is a properly embedded link:

Embedded Tweet

[YOhio]

That is really cool. I don't get the return to base part. Is that in the circumstance that it doesn't contact a target?

Thanks for embedding the tweet. Not sure what was going on earlier.

You're correct.

When a potential threat is detected, the autonomous drone is designed to launch vertically, track the potential target and destroy it. However, if operators decide not to strike, the Roadrunner-M can return to the pre-designated location, vertically land, refuel and be reused again, Anduril says.

https://breakingdefense.com/2023/12/...mer-buying-in/

[YOhio]

Flashlight left inside F-35 engine during maintenance caused $4M in damage repair.

https://www.afjag.af.mil/Portals/77/...B%20Report.pdf

[Bo Diddley]

Flashlight left inside F-35 engine during maintenance caused $4M in damage repair.

https://www.afjag.af.mil/Portals/77/...B%20Report.pdf

I have to think if we leaned on the private sector, they could come up with some automated solutions that would warn us our inventory was not complete. Technology FTW!

[YOhio]

I have to think if we leaned on the private sector, they could come up with some automated solutions that would warn us our inventory was not complete. Technology FTW!

Agree! But maintainers have a unique ability to both break and fix anything so I'm unconvinced technology will ever be able to completely defeat a determined airman from leaving a flashlight inside an F-35 engine.

[YOhio]

A couple of recent articles on the American drone industry getting its ass kicked by the Chinese.

How American Drones Failed to Turn the Tide in Ukraine

The Silicon Valley company Skydio sent hundreds of its best drones to Ukraine to help fight the Russians. Things didn’t go well.

Skydio’s drones flew off course and were lost, victims of Russia’s electronic warfare. The company has since gone back to the drawing board to build a new fleet.

Most small drones from U.S. startups have failed to perform in combat, dashing companies’ hopes that a badge of being battle-tested would bring the startups sales and attention. It is also bad news for the Pentagon, which needs a reliable supply of thousands of small, unmanned aircraft.

In the first war to feature small drones prominently, American companies still have no meaningful presence. Made-in-America drones tend to be expensive, glitchy and hard to repair, said drone company executives, Ukrainians on the front lines, Ukrainian government officials and former U.S. defense officials.

Absent solutions from the West, Ukraine has turned to cheaper Chinese products to fill its drone arsenal.

“The general reputation for every class of U.S. drone in Ukraine is that they don’t work as well as other systems,” Skydio Chief Executive Adam Bry said, calling his own drone “not a very successful platform on the front lines.”

A drone factory in Utah is at the epicenter of anti-China fervor

Matus still faces an uphill battle. Even in the Salt Lake City area — Teal Drones’s own backyard — police are skeptical there’s a need to buy domestic. They say China’s DJI remains the gold standard in functionality and price, and they believe the cybersecurity risk is minimal when the devices are run disconnected from the internet.

Kyle Nordfors, drone search-and-rescue coordinator for Weber County, just north of Salt Lake City, said that while he hoped to see U.S. drone brands become more competitive, DJI’s are still the best. He said DJI’s better functionality makes the difference between life or death when his team is searching for hikers lost on snowy slopes.

“Unfortunately, the U.S. manufacturers are still years behind,” Nordfors said. “If these anti-Chinese laws go into effect, it will cost American lives. And this isn’t hyperbole. I can give you actual names of American citizens that would have perished if I was forced to use an American drone.”

[YOhio]

Anduril introducing a new class of cruise missiles.

Embedded Tweet

[Uncle Ted]

Anduril introducing a new class of cruise missiles.

Yeah, we can just ship our old cruise missiles to Ukraine to use on Russia...

Embedded Tweet

[frank ryan]

Yeah, we can just ship our old cruise missiles to Ukraine to use on Russia...

Embedded Tweet

Ted you could probably get paid to spread Russian propaganda. You're helping the commies for free.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Paul Szypula is a "bubble bath girl"? Sounds kinky.

[Donuthole]

Nobody hoping for WWIII before November quite like MAGAts are. Sad!

[falafel]

Ted you could probably get paid to spread Russian propaganda. You're helping the commies for free.

Oh I'm sure Ted is monetizing his shit-posting somehow