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MAJ Ken Landgren
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I view the F-35 program like the Tiger II tanks Germany manufactured, expensive to make with low production, and is complex. If the F-16 is relevant, it will help us in a war of attrition, and other nations find the cost more appealing than the F-35s.
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SSgt Auto Total Loss Claims Associate
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MAJ Ken Landgren Taiwan just put in a bid to buy more F-16s from us. They don't want the F-35 - and probably won't for some time after the Japan incident (depending on the cause of the crash).
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Col Joseph Lenertz
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Great question! Although it makes sense to upgrade F-16s (those that still have significant service life) with the best sensor-shooter system available, it does kind of detract from the advantage the F-35 provides. Sure it's stealthy (when it's not carrying external payloads), but if it's a pig otherwise, is it really worth it. Great question. I don't know.
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SSgt Auto Total Loss Claims Associate
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Col Joseph Lenertz Sir, in my view, they lost their way when they tried to make the 35 a Swiss Army knife of the skies. If they had left it as a simple Strike Fighter pure heir to the 16, it would've been fully operational quite some time ago.
But, too many hands had to be in the cookie jar, I guess...
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