Pentagons $1.5 trillion mistake is one of many because of corrupt procurement

The F-35 fighter jet was supposed to do a bit of everything, as James Fallows explains in "The Tragedy of the American Military". Instead, the aircraft can barely do anything: it has trouble flying at night, its engines have exploded during takeoff, and early models suffered structural cracks. There's no end in sight, either. The all-in costs of this airplane are estimated to be as much as $1.5 trillion. (That's approximately the same price as the entire Iraq War.) In an Atlantic magazine video, Fallows explains how such a disastrous project came to be—and why it can't be stopped.

Nextbigfuture has pointed out that an F35 made of pure gold would be cheaper.

Others have noted that skyrocketing military procurement costs would lead to the entire US military budget being able to afford one plane in 2054.

It is not about national security. The military industrial complex makes choices for their own profit and not for the defense of the United States. 1200 suppliers and 9 international partners are profiting from the F35. The merging of requirements of the airforce, navy and marines means an expensive, compromised hodge podge that is inferior for each of the three tasks.

It is not a gold plated military program... it is pure solid gold.

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