I knew it would be only a matter of time before our city elite climbed aboard the gravy train;
City officials are rallying around the South Dakota Air National Guard in Sioux Falls to land a new fighter jet program that could bring dozens of jobs and protect the base’s $70 million yearly impact on the local economy.
That shiny $70 million may look good, but let’s look at the real factors.
• Doesn’t anyone find it a bit ironic that some of the same city councilors that opposed FEMA money after the ice storm have no problem with taking Pentagon money?
• The F-35 is really f’ing loud;
• The F-35 doesn’t have a very good battle record;
“The F-35 was at a distinct energy disadvantage,†the unnamed pilot wrote in a scathing five-page brief that War Is Boring has obtained. The brief is unclassified but is labeled “for official use only.â€
The test pilot’s report is the latest evidence of fundamental problems with the design of the F-35 — which, at a total program cost of more than a trillion dollars, is history’s most expensive weapon.
(And you thought the Railroad Relocation project was a huge waste of Federal tax dollars.)
• Also, the dirty ass peace lovin’ hippy in me has a real problem with my tax dollars going towards war spending to kill innocent foreigners with an inferior product that costs too much and doesn’t really work.
All that aside, we don’t need a new and improved air force base, we need peace and quiet in Sioux Falls.
Maybe we can bring a drone program to our base. They are quiet, they are effective, and nobody gets hurt, except of course the enemy.
The F35 has a lot of issues. Here is a good one. Cost. Think of it this way.
http://usuncut.com/politics/how-the-f-35-could-provide-23-years-of-free-college-for-everyone/
After digesting that, watch this YouTube vid by a guy who should know. Pierre Sprey, the man who designed the F-16 fighter jet, reveals the inefficiency and stupidity that led to the F-35 project:
http://youtu.be/mxDSiwqM2nw
how many dozens of people does it take to spend 70 million a year?
Too late on the drone base. Grand Forks AFB and Minot AFB have already got that sewn up. Those two cities developed special industrial parks adjacent to the AFBs to house drone buoilders and developers (two largest have already moved in) and the entire State of ND has been officially designated by the FCC as a drone testing area.
BTW – Drones are really F’ing loud.
Oh, and LOTS of innocent civilians are killed by drones. In fact – the drone-war is a huge factor in terrorist recruiting. Pay attention much?
Ruf, I was being sarcastic about the drones.
What do the Sioux Falls Sports Authority folks think of all of this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBkMIOHDCbw
Ain’t no ANG units afterburnin in Hutchinson cty.
I do miss that from SF(they used to run 4 of them at a time besides the noise pollution and traffic crime and DO NOT FORGET BEDBUGS.
Blessed seasons greeting to all even resident salty ass citizen Dan.
OBG
IAaL
I would think that once all the environmental aspects of this venture are exposed, any business that can presently hear an F16 doing maneuvers will fight the much louder F35 coming here.
The more I read about this, the more I’m convinced the cart is way in front of the horse on this one. For one, the present block 40 f 16 c/d is far from the boneyard in Roswell, like where our previous block 30’s are now. The block 40 is a modern fighter that can outperform the f 35 in any combat scenario. Plus the F 16 costs about 18 million per unit. The 35 is nearly ten times that amount. This country currently has over 400 billion invested in this machine that does nothing well. In fact, after 20 years of development it is not even remotely close to being combat ready. The F in F35 stands for Fighter. It is not. It should still have the X35 designation, as in Experimental, because 20 years later, that is exactly what it is. I would think in the near future, even our most rabid chicken hawks screaming for war all over the globe will realize what a drain this thing is on other war toys.
Whenever there’s a defense spending mistake, it gets setback into regional guard units. Ideally, lie and make it seem a regional economic impact. It is, the Feds will be buying us new windows. Perhaps, it’s federal money for new events center siding and free hearing aids. I’m in favor if flights will only be at times Huether speaks publicly.
Happy New Year everyone and BBG. Sorry Sioux Falls didn’t work for you.
” Also, the dirty ass peace lovin’ hippy in me has a real problem with my tax dollars going towards war spending to kill innocent foreigners with an inferior product that costs too much and doesn’t really work.” So I’m guessing you prefer nuclear warheads since they are more cost effective and work the way they are supposed to?
Since they are vertical take off and land, they would just get used for delivering bigwigs to hi-skule football games.
YLC BBG: From the two comments of yours I’ve read, I have no idea what you are trying to say. I can handle the typos, but maybe it’s the missing punctuation that’s messing the messages up. Also, does YLC BBG = IAaL? Please, speak up! Don’t “mumble”. Thanks.
Maybe, it is the extra engine which causes it to make so much noise: 😉
http://www.nbcnews.com/video/rachel-maddow/41591023#41591023
So I’m guessing you prefer nuclear warheads since they are more cost effective and work the way they are supposed to?
Nice try dugger. I figured a dakota war college apologist would be all for doing away with a 1.6 trillion dollar sinkhole like the X 35.
https://medium.com/war-is-boring/test-pilot-admits-the-f-35-can-t-dogfight-cdb9d11a875#.r9bde5nqy