Is The F-35 Worth $115 Million?
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 11 окт 2019
- Watch over 2,400 documentaries for free for 30 days AND get a free Nebula account by signing up at www.CuriosityStream.com/realen... and using the code, "realengineering"
New streaming platform: watchnebula.com/
Vlog channel: / @brianmcmanus
Patreon:
www.patreon.com/user?u=282505...
Facebook:
/ realengineering1
Instagram:
/ brianjamesmcmanus
Reddit:
/ realengineering
Twitter:
/ thebrianmcmanus
Discord:
/ discord
Get your Real Engineering shirts at: standard.tv/collections/real-...
Credits:
Writer/Narrator: Brian McManus
Editor: Dylan Hennessy
Animator: Mike Ridolfi (www.moboxgraphics.com/)
Sound: Graham Haerther (haerther.net/)
Thumbnail: Simon Buckmaster / forgottentowel
References:
[1] www.gao.gov/assets/600/591608...
[2]www.boeing.com/history/produc...
[3] nationalinterest.org/blog/the...
[4] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
[5] fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/js...
[6] www.f35.com/in-depth/detail/h...
[7] www.rolls-royce.com/products-...
[8] web.archive.org/web/200811150...
[9] www.f35.com/assets/uploads/do...
[10] www.globalaircraft.org/planes...
[11] www.f35.com/about/variants
[12] www.businessinsider.com/f-35-...
[13] / read-for-yourself-the-...
[14] ukdefencejournal.org.uk/no-th...
[15] www.airspacemag.com/military-...
[16]theaviationist.com/2017/02/28...
[17] www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/...
[18] www.airspacemag.com/military-...
[19] www.militarytimes.com/off-dut...
[20] nationalinterest.org/blog/the...
[21] nationalinterest.org/blog/buz...
[22] f35.com/about/cost
[23] www.flightglobal.com/news/art....
Thank you to AP Archive for access to their archival footage.
Music by Epidemic Sound: epidemicsound.com/creator
Songs:
Desert Dew - Alec Slayne
Fraudulent Business - Marten Moses
Midnight Waves - Dye O
Travellers - Ran the Man
A Trip To The Moon - Aiolos Rue
Night Vibes - Moon Craters
Innovations - From Now On
Waiting in Vain - Kikoru
Thank you to my patreon supporters: Adam Flohr, Henning Basma, Hank Green, William Leu, Tristan Edwards, Ian Dundore, John & Becki Johnston. Nevin Spoljaric, Jason Clark, Thomas Barth, Johnny MacDonald, Stephen Foland, Alfred Holzheu, Abdulrahman Abdulaziz Binghaith, Brent Higgins, Dexter Appleberry, Alex Pavek, Marko Hirsch, Mikkel Johansen, Hibiyi Mori. Viktor Józsa, Ron Hochsprung 
Наука
We just launched our new channel ruclips.net/user/realscience last week. Check it out!
Thank you for being an Engineer
@Real Engineering Just subscribed, I hope it's just as good as this channel, (but we all know it's going to be).!
very well reseched video i liked taht you metioned the radar freq range
Whatching it rihght away!
You are doing animations anyway so why can't you upload that in 4k 60fps?
Thanks man, I wasn't sure on whether to get one now or wait till it's on sale
Same I’m still wondering if I should get it in on my card or on cash
😂😂
Wait.
Bought one last year's Black Friday, can comfirm it't a great ride to work everyday. Still, i prefer my F-22 and F-15 for the weekends.
They are on gta online now? WTF
“So what should we name the F-35 for the Navy any ideas?”
The guy at the back “The F-35 Sea”
Badum tiss
And you would be right calling it trouble. It is considered by many to be the most expensive aviation debacle since Howard Hughes and his Spruce Goose. Its cannon cannot aim correctly (the brackets holding it together break). And even the Navy has requested more F-18 E/F and there was even a study if the F-22 could potentially be restarted and a Naval version produced. It's a political headache and nightmare and it really doesn't reflect so called "state of the art" just look at the Russian PAK-FA and new Chinese fighter. I think we had a better plane with the F-22 and a solid upgrade plan for it than this trillion dollar mess.
@@deathstrike The F-35C's gun is fine, and the F-35A's gun not working properly doesn't have any impact at all on it's role.
The Navy has bought more Super Hornets because they transferred most of their Hornet fleet to the USMC and need to procure more aircraft quickly. They did so because the USMC Hornets were falling apart from over-use. FYI the F-35C was never supposed to replace the Super Hornet, so your point is invalid regardless. The Navy are allowed to operate 2 types of fighters and frankly relying on the Super Hornet isn't a very good idea.
The study into restarting F-22 production had nothing to do with the F-35 and everything to do with the F-15Cs that had to be kept in service after the F-22 was cancelled in 2009. The USAF needs to replace those F-15Cs before they start falling apart like the USMC F/A-18s.
The last time a study was done into a naval F-22 was before the F-22 even existed. But even if they did do a study into such a concept today it would be replacing the Super Hornet, not the F-35C.
The F-35 program has cost less than half a trillion since 2001. $1.1 trillion is the projected cost of everything related to maintaining an F-35 fleet of 2000 aircraft including upgrades and pilot/ground crew training all the way out to 2065. it is the very first time a fighter aircraft program has been managed for a 50 year cycle, all older projections for aircraft like the F-22 were done in 10 year increments hence why every other aircraft program seems cheaper...
@@dumdumbinks274 I'd strongly suggest you please take a look at the most recent article in Time Magazine in where the Air Force clearly has given a LONG and difficult list of "critical items" the F-35 must meet to make it's mission readiness which is now hovering around the 72% mission capability. And one glaring item that is shown in the report, is the F-35 gun accuracy which has been quoted as "glaringly inaccurate". That is not assumption, that is fact and the problem is we can become clouded by articles and reports that can clearly skew the issue by giving the "company" side, and the programs detractors. There is also considerable problems with the F-35 software suites. Now in its defense it is a new airplane and will inevitably have teething problems as all new jets do. But to call the F-35 a runaway success is premature. Perhaps in a few more years, but not just yet. As for the 50 year anticipated life cycle, that is also premature as fighters are used much more than say the B-52 bomber and will wear quicker and require many more parts being they are many more of them. But the fact remains that the F-35 looks great in simulation ,will give many years of jobs and stability to contractors, and a few politicians will see huge smiles from their constituents. But the question remains, will it provide a return to the taxpayers? My money is on no, 50 years is a lot of advancement in that time and if anything "faster, better, cheaper" is often on the minds of taxpayers and the government at large.
@@deathstrike No, I suggest you do actual research and try to understand what is being said - not by Time, but by the Air Force. You won't be able to do much of that if you listen to or read mainstream media because those organisations make drama, not actual journalism with accurate reporting. There are plenty of examples of bad reporting surrounding the F-35 program.
- Remember the ejector seat issue? Solved in 2017 and only potentially affected an insignificant number of pilots who were very short, yet the media erupted claiming the F-35 to be a deathtrap.
- Remember the "oxygen issues" that grounded 50 F-35s? The issue was inadequate training in relation to breathing techniques while maneuvering. Nothing at all had to be done to the aircraft yet the media claimed once again that the F-35 was in real trouble. You'll actually find that the F/A-18 has had a heck of a lot more oxygen problems than the F-35, even if you compare year to year.
- Remember the Australian F-35s that didn't attend that one airshow in 2016? Yeah that's because the F-35A they scheduled to be at the airshow was a Block 2 produced in 2014 that hadn't been certified to fly near lightning. The media interpreted that event to affect ALL F-35s no matter which version or block, but fact of the matter was that the Australian F-35 was the odd one out because it lacked a fairly significant upgrade that became standard equipment at the beginning of 2015, and most F-35s had been upgraded with that system by 2016.
As I have already stated the gun issue has no effect whatsoever on the F-35A's ability to perform it's roles, and the USAF consider the gun issue to be a minor and low priority problem that will get fixed sometime in the next few years.
Software issues are almost all minor issues, and once again none affect the F-35's ability to perform missions. The fact the F-35 is 3 different aircraft should tell you to expect more issues than any other single-aircraft program. Per design it isn't so bad.
You're confusing lifecycle with lifespan. We're not talking about the F-35 itself when referring to lifecycle. We're talking about the fleet's service life and hte fact it will be actively supported for the next 50 years.
It's not supposed to provide a return for the taxpayers. What the *nation* gets is a fighter that can operate in modern combat environments and perform very well against the biggest potential threat. And FYI unlike older fighters the F-35 is designed to be upgrade-friendly which is part of the reason for the 50 year lifecycle in the first place.
the f-35 is not designed to dogfight. It is designed to shoot down it's targets before visual range, just for anyone who thinks dogfighting is still extensively used in modern combat. Even the f-14s were able to shoot down targets that were 100 nautical miles away.
Over the horizon radar is a 1980's technology as is multi-spectral scanning.
@JJ 1 Over the horizon radar doesn’t work if you can’t pick up the F35 before it blows you out of the sky. The reason say the F14 was so effective as a BVR was it’s radar was the best there was at the time. Now that radars are reaching there limits, stealth is the new factor that will decide fights, and on that front, nothing exists better then the F35
BVR is not unique to F35 but all modern fighters of the last 30 decades.
@@georgemavrides3434 yes, which is why the f-35 was designed to not be a specialist like the a-10 or f-22, but a flexible platform for different mission types, and so wasn't designed to excel in air to air combat at close range, all you need to do well in bvr combat is to have good missiles.
@@jimothywhimothy8683 its generous to call the a 10 specialist when its ass at the job it was designed to do
03:39 Outlet Nozzle
07:15 Total Lift
07:59 Empty Weight
08:10 MTOW
09:37 F-35C
14:21 EOTS
16:17 F-117 in Gulf War
16:57 Simple Shape
17:40 LF Radar vs HF Radar
18:50 Complex Shape
19:30 Precision
Thanks man
The sapphire windows scratch at level 8, with deeper groves at level 9.
Zach should test a f35
Why they did not use gorrila glass 6😜
Damn sapphire that's nice but glass is glass, and glass cracks
Doesn't make any sense ? It does ? (I understand the ref)
Bullet holes at level 10
22:05 “... this may have been a heavy to price to pay but what isn’t is a subscription to Curiosity Stream”
Good to know the service costs less than the F-35 JSF development program.
Smooth transition 👍
Imagine if it would be more expensive.
The airplanes has to be light and not heavy lik a freight rrai or it will not get off the gounfs.
@@ilovecops5499 You drunk?
AugmentedGravity: Airplane has to be strong to get past steel columns. Aluminum and steel with so mnay cycles to failure. WHy?
Amazing that the F-35A is now coming in at less than 80 million a copy...amazing improvement in manufacturing efficiency and cost reduction in a short time frame.
Really? That is so cool.
Can a civilian with the money, Musk, buy one?
@@flufffycow Don’t quote me on this, but I’m pretty sure no they can’t, since they have no affiliation with any branch of the military or even the government itself. Besides, Musk would need a two seater version, since if he hopped in a F35, he wouldn’t even be able to get the plane ready to fly, let alone get it off the runway.
@@flufffycow Don’t quote me on this, but I’m pretty sure no they can’t, since they have no affiliation with any branch of the military or even the government itself. Besides, Musk would need a two seater version, since if he hopped in a F35, he wouldn’t even be able to get the plane ready to fly, let alone get it off the runway.
@@flufffycow they wouldn't be able to the US is only willing to sell to allied government buyers no individuals or of course perceived hostile nations
The B2 bomber program came to about 20x per plane, or almost $2.1billion. Was that worth that? Good planes are always worth it, as they fly forever (B52?) while bad ones quietly are mothballed.
The F20 is angry at you.
The B-52 will outlive us all
it’s an absolute waste of taxpayer money lol amazing engineering but not at all necessary and simply wasteful
"Good planes are always worth it"
That has never been true, hence why the F22 was cancelled. Performance wise, the F22 was a marvel. The problem is it costs way too much to operate. It's per hour cost dwarfed that of the F15 by nearly a factor of 3. It was also very maintenance intensive. It doesn't matter how fancy your plane is if you're always fixing it or run out of money and parts to keep it airborne. The F35 has many similar problems to the F22. It is far too expensive to fly. The original intention of the F35 program was to create cheap fighters that were easy to operate. Somehow, Lockheed Martin gave us the exact opposite.
@@Maniac742 the F-22 was never cancelled?
It's still in service as the US's air superiority fighter
20:45 I really did not expect to hear you say "A shitload of money" ever in my lifetime
Ikr. I never expect any educational channel to swears. A surprise to be sure, but a welcomed one.
@@thestudentofficial5483 I never expect educational channels to swear either, but especially Real Engineering. It really just came out of nowhere, and surprised me quite a bit.
I think he slipped and either forgot to redo the part or just left it and didn't care. Saying shit is enough for youtube censors to do its fascism work.
@@Bebeu4300 He's always very strategic with his"s-bombs". I remember looking up at the SpaceX Starship video when he described the Starhopper fabrication effort as a "shitshow" and useful info followed after.
He did say "shitshow" in his Mars SpaceX video.
*** Is The F-35 Worth $115 Million?
That depends on whether you are selling one or buying one.
@Urazz then again, the B is really the one that brings a tactical benefit to the table, unlike the A and C which can easily be outclassed by other jets in their designated roles. I mean for the US army, the A and C are outclassed by other american jets, and in term of multi role abilities on foreign markets, they are outclassed in versatility and overall effectiveness by crafts like the french raffale. Also the F-35's role as a stealth CAS really fails to catch a market since conflicts nowadays involve fighting guerillas where really loiter time, overall payload and ease of maintenance are the main factors. in thar regard the F-35 A and C aren't worth their weight in drones. The B at least brings the versatility of being able to land and take off on short runways or heli pads which would benefit in increasing its potential coverage
Definitely not...
😆
@Repomeister it is about the money.... military complex has to profit from these sales...
@Repomeister well when you kill people it is wrong.
Worked on the F-35 project, some random info: The X-32 was dubbed "the guppy" because of its large intake. One is on display at Pax River NAS in Southern MD last I saw. Knew a pilot who had to eject an AV-8 and was injured, he was later the big boss at the F-35 engine maintenance and test facility at Pax River. The F-35B's entire exhaust nozzle points downward and incorporates a separate lift LPC in front of the jet engine, hence its much higher weight capacity compared to the AV-8. Had a beer with the test pilot Jon Beesley, happened to be at the same bar, while we were at a test facility in NJ.
OK your comment should have a thousand likes. Very cool, man!
Actually it was called the MONICA
the good thing is the F-35 is not 115 million, no variant is, the F-35A is $77 million, the F-35B is $101 million and the F-35C is $94 million give or take, which is LEAGUES cheaper than any other Fighter especially 5th gen
this is certainly the smoothest transition to advertising I have ever seen
IN RUSSIA ..THEIR BEST JET FIGHTER COST AROUND ,20,000,000,in america their priced a lot higher,you got a lot of hands to grease....
they all try but that pause we all know what is coming and its like the same 5 companies hell I feel I should buy all of them
I thought I was on the same track! wiered
true
@@thomasjefferson4492 capitalist pigs
Nice, the perfect thing to procrastinate with than studying to be an engineer
Same here XD
My man
Truth.
Definitely.
Ever heard of online poker?
the thing is about the dogfight reports you mentioned, the F-35 was a plane designed for only BVR fighting, so if an F-35 made it to the range where they started dogfighting, then the pilot of the F-35 has made some serious mistakes, the only reason the F-35 is said to out maneuver any plane except for the F-22 and its competition (the Su-57) is because it needs to do BVR fights which still require enough maneuverability to evade missiles.
bonus note: I know I said the F-22 and the Su-57 can out maneuver it but it still can very well match those planes, and realistically if we factor in costs the F-22 and the Su-57 would be fighting multiple F-35s, so that's why its better, but its still capable enough to destroy 4th gen planes like the JF-17, J-15, and more
Are you a manager in lockheed?
@@vidyutdevam9204 Most of this stuff isn't really rare stuff to know. Pretty much anyone who's ever done anything in, or related to, the military aviation community would know at least some of what air combat tactics and BFM are about. Players of games like War Thunder, DCS, or any other military flight simulator would know most, if not all (and more), of what this commenter said or what was presented in the video.
I know what you're trying to say with your comment, but what the person you are replying to is saying is among the most basic information available on the topic.
@@vidyutdevam9204 guess who is bombing Latakia?
@@vidyutdevam9204 he is member of India unemployed youth
@@jlight7346 I think you actually missed what he was trying to say. Pretty sure he was trying to be smart ass, like, "You must work for Lockheed to be Simping/Shilling for them like that."
The F-35 is by far the most advanced jet out there, all this bad press started due to one guy who had zero clue but there is a reason so many countries are buying it.
I agree that it’s extremely over hated and very very useful. But as an all around fighter, the F22 is superior.
@@orion_6346 With the new upgrades the F-22 will be a monster and possibly the best air to air fighter but it will never match the sensor fusion package the F-35 has. Either way, both are great. I can't wait to see what upgrades if any they will get.
pierre spray the bane of all modern military aviation
@@orion_6346 How is your F-22 going to hit a ground target? Ram into it?
@@thecatalyst6212don't forget the reformers, they nearly ruin the m2 bradley.
Looking at you Burton.
Pilot: the plane sucks at turning
Lockheed Martin: Bruh it's in beta
F 35 A is better than j 31 in all aspects and the b and c versions dont have rivals .
@@RicardoMrMendes yeah man
That's funny because it was exactly the truth. The F-35 WAS in beta. The flight with the F-16 was to tune to flight computer and they flew it with an F-16 because that plane is cheap to fly with detailed measurement on it's performance.
@@RicardoMrMendes I very much like your sense of humor. You think like the F-104 and the Boulton-Paul Defiant had no rivals..?
@@RicardoMrMendes It does have rivals.
That helmet is absolutely amazing! How long until soldiers on the ground are also kitted out with these AR helmets, receiving live enemy and friendly troop locations. We're so close to video game HUDs becoming a reality it's quite scary.
I'd rather look to integrated weapon sights on trial right now with laser range finder and a ballistics computer. Much higher hit probability.
Yeaaaaaa get the cost down to maybe 400-500 a pair and then they’ll maybe consider giving it to troops on the ground.
I’m not sure that will happen given the high chance that it could fall into enemy hands
They did made one, here take a look
News:
ruclips.net/video/XTV13SDWB-g/видео.html
How it looks:
ruclips.net/video/oow8bP37v3k/видео.html
seriously, they can see through their damn plane to look around them! I feel like that must be such a huge advantage in a fight
6:00 , "Why are the hatches comin out, Mav?"
20:46 Rare moment of Real Engineering swearing
The X-32 always just looks so happy to see you.
;D
Lmao
It looks like a Moth, Don’t you think?.
They had to cancel that one. Pilots would need a paper bag over their heads to walk across the flight line. That is one Ugly, ugly airplane!
They should make a plane so obnoxious that the enemy is busy laughing till they get deepthroated by a nuke
The Boeing X-32 looks like that Shark from "Finding Nemo"
"'Ello. Name's Bruce"
Nah, it looks like a whale shark
ikr
It looks like its eating itself and laughing at the same time
Aircraft maneuverability is becoming increasingly irrelevant since missiles like AIM9-X have off-bore targeting and can pull much more Gs than any plane. No matter how maneuverable a plane is, it does not even close to that of a missile.
This is what most people have trouble wrapping their head around. After watching so many Hollywood movies it must be difficult for them to learn that aerial combat is NOTHING like they see in cinema. If 2 planes ever got into a dogfight 90% of the time they'll both die.
@@vincentphan5097 If they both cross the MAR they will. If they go to a dogfight, then most likely, only one will come out victorious. This is where missile maneuverability for the F35 really matters, cause fat amy can't turn for ****.
@Saturated sausage If they are both good pilots, they'll go to the MAR. If they ran out of missiles, they would probably opt to RTB than to dogfight as the airframe and pilot are extremely valuable to both respected countries.
Lot 14 F-35A (Air Force variant) unit cost is $77.9M. Boeing F-15 Silent Eagle unit cost is $100M. F/A-18E unit cost is around $67M.
Of course not as there are better alternatives like teaching soldiers how to use elytras with fireworks
And equip the navy with tridents!
u funny fucker
@J Espinola well, get the US to ally with Scicraft and then we will have enough.
The only channel where you can find a channel with a SpongeBob profile pic talking about soldiers with Minecraft equipment in the comment section of a video about a fighter jet.
Check the cost of a single B2 bomber for just a subsonic fighter of course it a stealth one ;even with new radar technology ?
“This sounds like a shit load of money..” first time hearing him curse lmfao
I noticed that too
Caught me off-guard as well. Had to rewind it to make sure I heard right lol
"shit" isnt a curse word in alot of places
$1.7 TRILLION + flushed down the toilet would make any one curse.
Same
Lazerpig has a good video on this too
The tail of the nighthawk shot over Serbia was on display at the airplane museum in Belgrade, had the honors of seeing it in elementary school, amazing tech for the time...still love the design looks like a plane from a sci fi movie.
I'm 31. I remember going to a "take your child to work day" when my dad worked at lockheed. they had a presentation about all the cool stuff the f-35 does. i can't believe it's been in development so long.
That's cool! About that time my dad brought me to work and I struggled at doing "file -new" in windows 3.1 paintbrush because I didn't know what to do when the next screen "do you want to save "untitled" " came up. When I grew up more I got to go into the data center but I got kicked out because I rode an office chair down a ramp to pop bubble wrap (next to financial systems servers).
The F-35 will likely be in development through its lifecycle. They will always be upgrading it and improving it.
your dad sounds cool. I remember when I was 5 my family went to califarona and I had a Meltdown when we couldn't go to the Lockheed facility I wanted to go there over disneyland
@Hernando Malinche yeah but that project was never going to be on budget or on time. Way to many technologies that hadn't been invented yet where essential to its design.
I remember reading about it in a picture book almost two decades ago when I was a kid.
Real engineering: Everything is detectable
MH-370: Haha
Im sure, the US satellite detected it but they just wont say a word
HHHMMMMOKH
@@navyseal1689 What other conspiracy theories you got for us?
Corona from china
Now we're going to have to search your garage and your secrete Chinese underground lair.
It was waaaay cheaper than the mix of F-15 upgrades plus new F22, that was the prime alternative at purchase time. We still did a small subset of the F-15 upgrades, but cut it by extending F-16 and F-18. This was never going to be cheap, but seeing how the rest of the world views its export-version, it looks better and better over time.
This channel is incredible! Just when I needed, there's a video on how to save money when buying these! Thanks my friend! Helped a lot!
That ad transition snuck up on me like a stealth bomber.
Before you knew what was happening, BOOM, you're ded.
It is a result from 27 years of intensive marketing
Best Segway ever. You might not have 115 million to buy a plane but maybe 2.99 for a website
Is that your birb? What a cutey :)
"More V-LOL"... XD that one got me laughing.
Lmao looks like the pidgeon who gets feed a lot
Scary pigeon 😂
it was pretty corny
VLOL. Very Laughing Out Loud? That air intake looks like a joke.
No, it actually wasn't funny.
the heads up display on the pilots helmet allows him to see through the aircraft...pretty damn amazing.
"As an Irish Citizen, that is not for me to decide." *Shows half of the entire Irish air force*
@Greg Moonen Northern Ireland.
The great and almighty british emipire
GOD SAVE THE QUEEN
@@exiletsj2570 Norther Ireland is not a real country.
Would you want your government to buy them?
Exile 1 I don’t think you need an F-35 to fight the IRA
Think I will hold out until the Black Friday sales before I pick one up
gav_fitzpatrick you cant buy it dummy butt it is owned by the amreca untead states
Just use cheat codes to spawn one
SrbsfnenfokcdnwkowfnckjfsbkbkhsfvkönOöjfranrf I like your style
Just spawn it
ACT governing resumption of work Supreme Court of the USSR
There's a good chance this plane will prove itself in the future by dominating whatever conflict it finds itself in. It will likely prove the capability to network share information between other planes and commanders on the ground as the decisive factor in its domination.
Folding wings and VTOL are a pathway to my heart, love this plane, great video!
The f35 pointing its nozzle down looks like a nervous dog taking a dump
lol
LMFAOOO
Like a whippet taking a shit !
it knows what it did.
@Mark Fischer they van fly autonomous maneuvers to avoid hazards that are so drastic the human passes out or dies and it keeps flying the mission by itself or remotely.
F-35 dev team: 27 years of development
Star citizen dev team: *Mr Incredible looking at his watch* "Ive still got time..."
... ... and the biggest avionic disaster.
@@hikvision1019 No it's not. This shit gets said about every US aircraft program until people finally understand that technology has moved on.
CIG backers could have bought three F-35As with their money! Timeshare Jet!
@@hikvision1019 like russian jets
Checking back after two years- Finland orders 64 units
Well, since it's not bullet and missile proof, and can not fly itself and land itself if something happens to the pilot, it is NOT worth that much money, ESPECIALLY with the helmet being $400,000-$600,000 alone.
"Commercially available" - that means you can buy it on the open market. The correct description is "joint adoption".
don't tell the ancaps, they still haven't gotten over the lack of recreational McNukes
damn, there goes all my plans
fredmdbud that's cos they have to force people to take it
steve crawford this is an Irish channel. By the living lord Jesus, an American dumber than his president. I've never seen the like. As much as I like a drink, it's not even 11 in the morning here, and that would be too early even for me, especially on a Sunday. You on the other hand can drink as much as you like whenever you like, no one will notice the difference.
Sure as hell ain't giving it to Turkey after they bought the S-400.
Airplane Designer: So, what would you like this plane to be able to do?
United States: Yes...
Yes
More like:
Airplane Designer: So how many variants of this plane would you like?
United States: Yes
@@myusername3689 You make a good point🤔
@@myusername3689 The only thing I need to know is, does it come with cup holders?
@@mattienorml349 Hmmm what about a bottle opener? Does it have those?
I was an Airframes mechanic in the marines on the F-35B And even served on some of the ships shown in this video. You covered the subject very well.
Fun fact about the F-117; it is of course not a fighter, but a bomber. It was given the “F” designation, rather than “B”, to attract top pilots, as it was believed top pilots would rather fly fighters than bombers.
Agree, Air Force fighter pilots love the "F" word!
It was specifically given the f designation to keep its secrecy under wraps during development. The nighthawk wasn't formally acknowledged for many years, even after years and years of service the Pentagon still denied it ever existed. It's secrecy was of the utmost importance and thus the letter designation F to throw off any potential leaks.
I would love to see your source, because I find it pretty hilarious the pilots could be duped into flying the plane based on the letter designation.
@@cadenbiglerI found it!
ruclips.net/video/bz-85MySPQk/видео.html starting at 23:50. The man being interviewed is Alan Brown, the senior project engineer. The man Brown is referring to who decided to give it the F designation is Robert J. Dixon, a 4-star Air Force general who was the head of Tactical Air Command. Dixon is also the one who decided that the F-117 would be painted black, as explained at 22:26.
Lockheed: We could make this plane like the Harrier or the B-2 or the F-16 or the F-22 or the F-117 or the F/A 18
US Government: Yes
Trump said : it just tremendously perfect.
@@michaelgfyau4514 It's not. The system was purchased from the Russians who used it on one of their fighters but the Russians did not find it suitable and did not produce it in numbers. news.yahoo.com/see-f-35-stealth-fighter-145500246.html www.military-today.com/aircraft/yak_141.htm
@@anthonyrosa5006 well, no will admit it cuz it is belongs to USA. If is China, many people will say it's copycat or crap. 😂
This is what is happening now around the globe. Most people only aware now USA and China on economy war but they don't realize the media war is even greater than economy war.
Chetto
@@anthonyrosa5006 False. The Russians didn't have the money to fund the project, and the lift system of the F-35B is completely different to that of the Yak-141, not to mention the Yak lift system almost exactly resembles the layout of the Convair Model 200's lift system from the late 1960s.
i'm glad RUclips recommended this video to me. I'm in the market for a new fighter jet. Thanks!
Is it actually possible for a citizen to buy one? Without all the missiles and such.
Yep I can trAde in lots of school and hospitals to get a pair of these.
@@ASLUHLUHCE I don't remember the name of the airplane, but it's like a fighter jet. Yes, it's expensive.
Morgan Freeman is Zoroastrian, he only wants it for the flames.
Its out on Flight Simulator Programs!!! FS 2020 will have all modern fighters ...bombers.. in its ..future packages!!!
15:57 the furthest object we have ever detected that MAY be an Exoplanet is about 28million light years away, aside from that all planets we have found are in the milky way
Three years later would be a good time to answer the question again. Now the F-35 is operational with full capabilities with several military branches. It is this fully operational F-35 that Finland chose to buy recently.
And still a flying tub.
@@thorinbane Welcome to the moderna era, where areodynamics don't mean shit because you're shooting at the enemy from half a country away.
i wasn't expecting the "a shit load of money" line, had me dying.
weak
@@David-jm5rj Shut up.
@@wizzotizzo rude
"Is The F-35 Worth $115 Million?"
*spends 20 minutes explaining it*
"As an Irish citizen that's not for me to decide"
Nice video with all the bells and whistles but he failed to mention how inaccurate the F-35's long range missiles are. During testing their missiles blew on their own in the middle of the distance or completely missed the target. Numerous times. Also the electronic system isnt very reliable in f-35. they have had many problems with the electronics (due to the fact it has so many capabilities it requires many electronic systems and they fail many times). So yeah this is why they keep reworking the F-35. Even many US pilots are doubtful about the F-35 in a dog fight because if they miss the long range missile (while in stealth) on say a dassault rafale (its extremely agile, it can even dodge missiles), the rafale can easily close in spot the F-35 and take it out (F-35 is bigger, almost twice as big and not as agile as the rafale). Many US pilots are aware of this fact and they dont rate the f-35 so highly because of its unreliable electronic system and missile target system. 100 million down the drain I would say. On paper it appears to be the god of all planes, in implementation its weak. I have even heard they have secretly tested these jets against top of the line Migs, sukhois and rafales and the F-35 got beat in almost all of the dog fights when it missed its long range missiles. F-22 raptor is much better.
@@kinghoola4926 They have gotten around the problem of long-range missile inaccuracy, by going back to the pigeon guidance system witch outperformed the Norton bomb site.lol
@@kinghoola4926 I'm pretty sure it uses the same missiles as any other air to air fighter AMRAAM and sidewinder.
@@kinghoola4926 That sounds really cool if they secretly test fighter jets against each other. I tried Googling it but couldn't find anything. Do you know of any source, reliable or not that suggests that idea?
@@kinghoola4926 F-22 is so old it has 25mhz processors. Missiles will be fixed, sam's are a threat for a reason, missiles work.
I think it’s really stupid when people bring up that ”oh but it lost to a f16 in a dogfight so bad plaen” because they fail to mention that, in this day and age, dogfighting isn’t even relevant. If you have a plane that can spot you before you know it’s there and blow you out of the sky with a aim-120, it doesn’t matter whether or not you turn faster. The f35 has changed the game, and I look to it’s insane capabilities with open arms. Such a remarkable piece of equipment.
Also, its super common for aircraft to have delays in production or issues from the get go. Look at the f15 eagle, the legendary fighter with an astounding 103:0 loss ratio. It took 13 years to fully develop and had lots of issues but in the end it’s high tech equipment changed the battlefield and it dominated the skies. I believe the f35 will(hopefully) be just as successful.
If we adjust to gdp of the country its a cheaper project than the b29 bomber that was replaced by the twice as large b36 that was replaced by the b52 that could carry twice the payload, yet the b29 tecnology was esential to create the later models yes costs can look huge but moving foward is not free
Husband: "Honey, why is there an F-35 on the kitchen table?" Wife: "It was on sale!"
Sounds like me when I got my RC F-35 😝
“That’s Jimmy’s Christmas present.”
Robert Oschler I wouldn’t be mad
Other way around.
more like the other way around, usually a husband would buy that 😂
The windows are made of sapphire, JerryRigEverything: Minor scratches at level 8 with deeper grooves at level 9.
Comments didn't disappoint 🤣
Then find out the US military did an Apple leading to...
Scratches at a level 6
Deeper grooves at a level 7
Why do I have a feeling that Zack is going to get his pick set to scratch an F-35B, saying: "It's seems that they're using the same weird composite glass used on apple phones a year ago. Kinda disappointed for a plane that costs this much, at this price, its better to get a J-31."
Durability test would be fun to watch!
My ears are bleeding from that metal scratching.
cool video! one correction though, when the f117 was shot over serbia in the 90s, they gave the mostly intact plane to china, not russia. this is most likely the reason why on a subsequent bombing run on belgrade(serbia's capital), one of the bombs "accidentally" hit the chinese embassy there. in any case, well done on the video.
did you accidentally comment on the wrong video
@@jwandel You did not watch the video, quite obviously.
i have one thing to say to you that was a very smooth and clever transition to curiosity stream
The F35A last confirmed price was under 80 million USD.
The F35B was like 115 million, but it's also way more complicated. The F35C is built in much smaller volume and hence more expensive than the A by a decent margin at 105mil I think it was
Shhhhhh, don't tell the media and their brainwashed followers the truth!
cOsT pEr UnIt DoEsN't Go DoWn WhEn MoRe UnItS aRe BoUgHt, F-35 tOo ExPeNsIvE, cAnCeL tHe GoVeRnMeNt!!!!!!!
@@jlight7346 the real problem with the f35 is its bugs and running costs, but that is why they made the f35 program to include technologies from different countries, it helps offset the cost to the economy for many of the participating countries.
Canada for example, has made over 2bil in revenue so far off the f35 program while being one of the prime investors, even if they dont have any at the moment, but they most likely will. that revenue over time can offset running costs
Finland just bought 64 units, the unit price was under 74 million euros
@@projecttitanium-slowishdriver the prices tend to vary per country it seems from what I can find.
For example the UK ended up paying more than expected due to inflation
Bargain!
I'll take 2!
Real Engineering: “everything is detectable”
MH370: “are you sure about that?”
They know where it is, off the coast of Western Australia
Turbotroll presumed
@@turbotroll8605 Only the wreckage was discovered. But It was not detected when the plane was still in the air.
The vietcong
Alien: "we will see about that"
these weapons seem very powerful when they go on missions targeting ppl inside huts/tents and mudbrick homes in some economically poor country.
I love that ad he slip at the end there, it was so smooth
It helped me to make an important purchase decision ... ✌
i assume that you are a saudi prince
Yes exactly, photos are way too expensive to buy. Why do you try toys instead 😂
Curious Definitley not, moreover I live in Dubai :)
How will it be transported for customers without a runway?
@@aslatabistaalphonso4250 That's where the vertical takeoff comes into play 😌
"less VTOL and more VLOL" omg that cracked me up!
Same tho
VLOL
@@OBLOfficiall Vlol
Why do people reveal jokes like this?
Why does RUclips show comments weight clicking the button?
F 35 is "SVTOL" I think.that means its "Super VLOL" aircraft.
Three years later and it's down to $75 million and up to 900 airframes delivered.
This is the kind of typical mistakes that senior management made when they did not push back on unrealistic client's demand during early discussion. Too eager to get the contract, ended up ruining the contract at the end.
*The public* "it costs so much money omg"
*The government* "haha money printer goes brrrr'
@Glacier The Husky how isnt expensive tho?
@@batur_psychology19 so, Apple is worth over a trillion. TRILLION. That is one million million. 150 million for the government isn't a huge deal
@@ilikepegasi6449 "War is never going to go away." It won't as long as you keep saying it.
More like *brrrrrrt*
A10 supposed to be cheap but just look at its freaking price
0:38 Eisenhower must be rolling over in his grave.
The best Republican president ever.
@@lukeg8466 And why that hyperbolic based on nothing statement ?
If he ran now, he’d be pretty much be considered a Bernie Sanders level liberal.
@@Kabodanki He was essentially the only president to acknowledge the dangers of massive military spending and the only one who understood the power the military industrial complex had.
Ike is considered to be a top ten us president of all time thanks to his contribution to the civil right movement even though he was not that into it and was very important in the beginning of the American highway system.
These machines are one of the reasons I took Aero Engineering. I can say I am satisfied and I’m happy.
4:05 It is not spuriously called "Harrier - 'The widow maker' " 😂
Dang, that last transition from information to the Curiosity Stream plug was smooth as hell man. Almost couldn't tell it switched. Nice job there lol.
Ad Block Plus. Come on, folks.... It's been out longer than I've been alive, lol.
That Boeing Jet looks like it needs to lay off on the donuts.
2:59
Oh dear
i'm guessing the idea was its so ugly the enemy would poke out their eyes rather than look at it
2:59
Somebody described it saying it had a look only a mother could love…
Any chance there will be a bundle edition with helmet? Little confused which one to get and discouraged by scalpers though…
Actually the Marines DO fly off the Navy’s super carriers. Carriers would often sail with a squadron of Marine F-18’s on board. I imagine the Marines will operate both the B and C models.
"Making this less VTOL and more VLoL" xD
Gottem!
Adding a SVTOL version of the F-35 was expensive. The Marines really wanted it, but in my opinion it was the British that got it over the finish line. Without an SVTOL version of the F-35, they probably wouldn't buy it and they are a major foreign partner in the project.
The F-35 isn't STOVL (Short TakeOff and Vertical Landing), and it certainly isn't SVTOL (Short Vertical TakeOff and Landing?). It's VTOL (Vertical Takeoff and Landing). This kind of capability is priceless in a modern war, a war in which permanent structures like runways and hangars become very vulnerable.
Airbases are completely reliant on defenses like SAMs and AAA cannons, as well as the aircraft they house. These defenses are good, but not perfect by any stretch of the meaning. A simple saturation attack from cheap and plentiful cruise missiles (and maybe even autonomous drones in the future) will easily put an airbase and its aircraft out of commission for a month or two at least. This is a huge blow in a modern war between near-peer (in terms of military capabilities), technologically advanced, countries like the United States and China. Modern war simply moves too fast for major assets to be out of service for months at a time. Attacks can occur in hours, not days or weeks like before. The pace of warfare is constantly becoming faster and faster as time goes on.
To avoid this whole problem of having permanent, vulnerable, military installations you'll need an aircraft like the F-35 or the AV-8 (the American version of the Harrier). These aircraft don't need a runway to land, they just need a flat, cleared, area large enough to fit the aircraft in and then a little more to account for pilot error. You can launch and receive planes like these from a small clearing in a forest in the middle of nowhere provided you can transport the weapons and fuel effectively to that site (not an overly difficult task). This gives you a massive advantage over an opponent as they will be forced to vigorously look around for your planes in order to find them, in addition to the fact that this capability gives the aircraft greater flexibility in its deployment. They can't hit what they can't see. Instead of presenting a nice, fat, juicy target like an airbase to an enemy, you can force them to spend a lot of time and effort to simply find your planes and only then be able to strike.
The F-35 was absolutely designed to be exported in large numbers to a large number of countries, but the needs of those countries do not take precedence over the needs of the United States. If it's in the design, it's because it's crucial to the mission the USAF, USN, or USMC wants it to complete.
@@jlight7346 The F-35B is indeed STOVL, although it can also do vertical/short take off and landing (V/STOL).
The F-35B is the only variant with this capability. The F-35A and F-35C (CTOL and CV/CATOBAR) will make up the bulk of the fleet at 85%, so yes runways will still be relevant (and not nearly as long as months to repair).
While the adaptive basing you described will be an important part of military strategy going forward, it has its drawbacks. STOVL flight burns a lot of fuel, which cuts severely into the jet's range. Not optimal when the role is "strike" fighter.
@@Raptor302 It isn't called STOVL when the plane can literally lift itself straight into the air and land in that same manner. STOVL is when the plane still needs a runway to take off, but the runway just doesn't need to be as long as a normal one. VTOL implies that the aircraft is also capable of short takeoffs and short/vertical landings. About the increased fuel cost you're talking about, the amount of fuel used to take off this way is negligible. It might take a bit more than a conventional takeoff but as long as you don't hang around for a while the amount of fuel you will expend is more or less nothing. The large lift fan and larger engine assembly can take up more space that might otherwise be used for fuel, but the total amount it consumes when taking off and landing vertically will not shrink its range by any significant amount.
I apologize for not mentioning that I was talking exclusively about the F-35B, I am well aware that my argument doesn't apply to the other two variants in any way.
@@jlight7346 STOVL is the way Lockheed Martin describes it, so you can take it up with them. No, fuel is not negligible, it consumes about 1/3 of the fuel tank than it would otherwise.
@@Raptor302 Id’d like to see where Lockheed Martin is describing the F-35 as only a STOVL aircraft, as well as some kind of proof that a SINGLE TAKEOFF uses 1/3 of a FULL tank of gas.
the F-35 only costs 85-88 million per unit now for mass production in 2020 now so the cost got reduced by like 30% so now it's much cheaper than they originally expected!
21:59 "source: the entire irish air corps"
I don't think it's entirely fair to argue the F-117 'failed' given the fact only one single plane was shot down in ten thousands of sorties - that's actually very impressive insofar strike ratio's go. Especially considering how badly the deck was stacked against it in Serbia: Its radar signature flared up because of open bomb bays, no prowler jamming escort, the flight path was known by the enemy, long wavelength radar was used. They would likely have lost a lot more if it wasn't for its already outdated stealth technology at that time. The US deliberately didn't destroy the plane's remains because at that point the F-117's stealth capabilities were 30 years old and only of limited value to the opposing force. It's a shame it's remembered for being shot down once because it had a very good run.
The only failure was in using the same flight plan day after day.
The f-117 had no jamming and limited sensors. The F-35 can Jam multiple targets at once and out-range Sam sites
One broke its wing off and fell on a residential house ,everybody took a piece of the composite material for soveneir showoff
Shot down by Russian made systems from the 60s, nowhere near capable air defebses. There's no such thing as stealth unless you fly blind, which becomes a suicide mission over enemy airspace.
Shot down by a 1961 soviet sam...
22:07 Seamlessly integrated advertising .
The F117 information was pretty cool. I was part of that operation when it happened.
Did you know the idiots responsible?
Tech evolved so much that a 200$ drone can balance itself perfectly even with wind and other factors from 4 motors and the harrier had manuals controls for this :))
A drone is roughly [checks notes] eighty thousand times lighter than a harrier. I think these might be different engineering problems.
21:57 Source: The entire Irish Air Corps . I'm dying
🤣🤣🤣
Ah, Finnally a worthy opponent for my country Slovenia ! 😆
22:00 lmao "The entire Irish air corps"
13:36 -- In other words, if you're worried about scrubbing momentum as a result of a high G-load maneuver, you have already lost the engagement.
I really appreciate your unbiased analysis, personally the F-35 is one of my favorite planes, and it gets a lot of hate. Wont deny that it was expensive though!
"A stealth plane" *proceeds to show an A-10 Thunderbolt II*
the A-10 really doesnt have any place on a modern battlefield anymore than battleships
It’s very stealthy if there’re no witnesses
@@sashali6666 thats y theres *BRRRRRRRT*
Connor O'Brien Are you kidding? The A-10 is one of the most favorite aircraft ever made and does its job so efficiently there’s no point of making another one. Ask any ground troop if they should decommission it and they will say no. It’s CAS ability is unmatched and wreaks havoc.
FPS Elwin can’t be detected if everyone is dead
"Short of physically not existing, everything is detectable'. Lmao😂😂
Quantum Physics: "Hold my hadron."
@@InfuriatedHawk lmao!
@@InfuriatedHawk Basic Astronomer: Hold my dark matter.
Cosmologist: That's adorable.
Also cosmologist: Would you mind helping me look for my dark energy? Can't seem to find it.
@@GeneralAblon Other Cosmologist: I think you left it near the Higgs Boson...
*Laughs in string theory*
Nice commentary with a really good explanation.
Good job sir!
"This sounds like a sh*tload of money" caught me off guard lol
Q: Is the F-35 Worth $115 Million?
20+ minutes of video later...
A: That is not for me to say.
What? Bah... :)
I like the why you say bah
Would have been better to just add an inflated initial cost for each of the planes it will be replacing (F15, AV-8B, F18) and then compare the total cost of them to the current sticker price of the F35B.
At least, that's how I would think of it... then again... can you really put a price on having a cutting edge air fleet that is able to defend against other 5th gen aircraft in other nations already? (the answer of course is yes.)
@@uncoeur Not sure if new gen radars make their way to make it irrelevant ...
@@PytonPagom If there was a way to make the F14 supercruise more efficiently with that advanced radar, I'd suggest going back to that honey of an aircraft.
@@uncoeur I meant AA radar sytems ... opposing F35. Plus combinaton with EW and the possible near future photon radars and civillian structure assisted passive radars ( witch is possibly Russias reason to jump on 5G as much, opposed to the rest of western world aside the foreign tech company reason ) - that is, no need for few more radars, if you have your airspace saturated with loads of everything, giving stealth small rooms to maneuver and no early active homing signal for anti-radar rockets. I also remember some talk about the specific type of stealth used ... something about chiselling off the surface to gain access to panell-screws ( ... not sure how much relevance here, but if true, its a big boomer ... and is definitely usable only if hi-tech prevalence is ensured - meaning, in a war like WW2, where money runs out fast and conditions need practical all-out service and on-hand parts ... well, its easy to see it be going back to stored 3-4 gen fighters then - and we haven't had any comparable war-situation at modern level warfare ... with with rise of china, could eventually happen )
Engineers: we made the Stealth fighter that you wanted.
Pentagon: Great! now we want it to have STOVL, a new targeting system, and for it to fit seamlessly into every part of the armed forces. of are country and our allies for 1/2 of the cost. We will be mass producing the aircraft, So invest heavily in non-flexible assembly lines. We also want it to perfectly fill the roll of evere 4th generation fighter.
Engineers: Okay but that will require lots of up front Investment and we will have to decrease the amount of weapons.
Pentagon: M O R E W E A P O N S
Engineers: We could add pylons, but that will make it less stealthy.
Pentagon: Nevermind apparently the Air force is doesn't want STOVL, and navy doesn't want the plane, so now you are making 3 variants. They all have to have 70% of the same parts though.
Engineers: But-
Pentagon: Make that 30 variants. Apparently different countries need weapons equipped for different roles. Good thing that this plane will be good at everything, RIGHT?
Engineers: Okay, but that will cost more.
Pentagon: That is A OK. we'll just order fewer units.
Engineers: Okay, but that will cost more per unit.
Pentagon: ALL I ASKED FOR WAS ONE WEAPON THAT COULD DO EVERYTHING TO A DEGREE BETTER THAN ANY OTHER WEAPON IN THE WORLD, THAT WOULD SEAMLESSLY INTEGRATE WITH THE MILITARIES OF US AND ALL OF OUR ALLIES. Is that to much to ask?
Engineers: Yes.
Pentagon: Fine, we will give the contract to Boeing.
Engineers: Okay, we will do it, but the R&D alone will be over-
Pentagon: Here is a blank cheque.
Facts
Samuel Fischman
Didn’t Robert McNamara. Try this with the F-111A back in the late 60s?
Amazing how clueless some people are about military procurement processes. The F35 is not expensive, it's ridiculously cheap. It costs about the same amount of money as a modern 4th gen fighter. But the F35 provides more capability for that money than any plane before it. It's a MASSIVE leap in technology from previous generations. As a fighter F35's are getting insane kill ratios in excercises, out performing anything but the F22. And as a bomber it is completely unparallelled, easily able to go into areas defended by sophisticated integrated air defenses that would cause horrific losses against any 4th gen plane. If you had to do that same mission with F16's it would actually end up much more expensive because you'd need dozens or even hundreds of planes and you'd lose a big chunk of them. The fact that the F35 is so versatile that many countries in vastly different circumstances have ordered it only makes it more impressive. You should be damn proud of the Pentagon instead of making these dumb jokes.
@@duxd1452 facts right there my man
it was made with STOVL and to be adaptable as a goal all along.
The driveshaft between the Lift-fan and the engine, are the weekest point of the whole system. Because the driveshaft have to make so many rpm when engaged, the wear and tear of this part is enormous, and are pushing up maintenance costs!
The F-35D is a 1/20 scale model that they send to the army so they have something to play with instead of their food.
hahahahha good one
Yeah, it ain't cheap. But compare the cost of an F-35 to what the Jacksonville Jaguars are paying Nick Foles.
One kills the other one doesn't.
One had a service time of fifty years
BORTLES
Hannah Ni is that a good place reference?
Weapons are no use at all and wasting of our earth resources on earth to build if devil nations in the world are not creating troubles or provocations against other nations for wars in the world!! The nation building up most of the weapons in the world is a devil which will be condemned and punished by God for sure . No wars then no markets for weapons, so this nation must keep creating troubles in the world so as to keep their weapons markets in the world ......really devils!!!!
"This sounds like a shitload of money (...)" Well I wasn't expecting that lmao
Could you please do a kinematic comparison between the F-35 A/B/C Cost, Maintenance, Range, Loadout? Thank you.
The X-32 looks like a generic cartoon happy whale... with wings
Looks like from Pixar's Planes
Reminds me General Aladeens discussion with nuclear Nadal.
It was not the pretties aircraft. Though it was also a prototype. I have seen some later concepts of what the production variant would look like and if it looks that wins you contracts, then the F-32 would beat the F-35 in my book. But that is based on plans that never came to be so we never know.
Some say it the same reason the YF-23 lost to the YF-22. The YF-22 which became the basis for the F-22 having a more classic fighter jet look. But I somewhat doubt that. Still these crafts are all fairly close to each other in many respect and often have a lot of pros and cons that are hard to compare. So it would not suspire me in the end if looks was what determined the outcome. Looks have played a small role in what won a contract in the past.
It’s such a cute lil plane
I remember seeing that and thinking, no way is that gonna win the contest. lol It makes the A-7 look sexy. :D