Tyler, just go ahead and say the whole thing is a shitshow. The F35B is a dog and pony show for the Gator Navy to try and save the entire thing. They killed programs that were far more viable and effective for those that are more suited to making the investors happy, if you will.

So many problems could have been avoided with 2 separate air frames with common components with the USMC fighter being being better optimized for VTOL or STOVL and the other being better suited to being a conventional fighter for the Navy and Air Force..

the entire fleet is a mess. The F-35B is actually, in my opinion, the saving grace of the whole thing, although, it is a chicken and the egg deal. It hampers the rest of the fleet so you need it to justify a compromised design. In exchange it does bring new ‘first day of war’ capabilities to our gator navy…

When it comes to CAS for the Corps, the Corps prefers that it’s own Marines are the ones to protect it’s grunts. The Marine Corps is a fraternity that is pretty unique in the US military. You’ll see other units develop the brotherhood that Marines have, but nowhere else in the military puts anywhere near the emphasis…

Mr Rogoway, I have read many articles (mostly yours) on the F35 and I have a genuine question about it. In your opinion, is there any redeeming quality to the F35 project that might keep the jet viable for decades to come? Also, please clarify something, is it the entire F35 fleet that is a bit of a boondoggle or is…

Because internal competition? Every branch wants their guys to have the best toys instead of doing cooperation with other branches.

Yeah midway could have gone the other way. The Germans could have attacked the soviets earlier and not split their forces, d day could have gone sideways, the Germans get Malta, the Italians aren’t horrible at war, the French fleet isn’t scuttled, the carriers should have been at Pearl Harbor except they got caught in…

I’ve been binging on WWII Documentaries for the past 2 weeks. Incredibly interesting how the whole plan for D-Day was developed. The Luftwaffe had struggled for a couple years on the Atlantic coast of Europe allowing low-flying spy planes - namely stripped out Spitfires and P-38 Lightnings to continually buzz the…

The shear scale of Operation Overlord and all the loss of life humbles me everytime I think about it.

Your point about the program being a mess though... valid. And I say that as a Lockheed Martin shareholder.

Naming it after politicians gets the other politicians to give them money to do stuff in the hopes that one day, they too will get a ship named after them. To be fair though, this guy was the Secretary of the Navy for a bit.

That’s a pretty awesome submarine photo, but I don’t think that anything can top this one:

Perry was just flat out unprepared for the last election. I think he’ll do better this time round. Not sure if he’ll be the nominee, but I really don’t think he’ll be the laughing stock he was last time.

So these guys photograph themselves executing some guy in front of his family, and within a day we blow up the house, surviving family and most of the neighbors? I’m hoping our analysts are thinking these strikes through.

YES, also target selfie sticks

Rods from God has always been one of my favorite weapon ideas

Let’s set this program up for people who share pictures of their food.