Another Cut????

[Tab]

The new Joint Strike Fighter being built by Lockheed Martin has run into problems. The plane is now 3,300 lbs over weight and it is reckoned that the pilot will have a job of landing it with out the wheels coming off. Also now with this extra weight it can no longer take off or land vertically. It can now only be used on very long runways and carrier work is out. So one wonders what will happen now, will the government scrap the new carriers before they are built, or stick with the Sea Harriers for another 20 years.

[may18]

I thought the sea harriers had already been scrapped?.

Its a bit of a nightmare, with the typhoon a bit of a joke of course.

What happened to our industry?. hunter, lightning,
the harrier etc were worldbeaters. And the TSR.2 and supersonic harrier
would have been if they hadnt been cancelled at an advanced stage.
We even had a vstol transport in the works
I personally think they will talk about it for years then build or buy
a single ctol carrier..probably with the ctol jsf or rafale onboard

[AdamR]

I really hope this is some sort of joke... I can't believe it's been in development for this long without them realising something like this... Should have stuck with the Boeing, even though it did look funny.

[goffer]

It can now only be used on very long runways and carrier work is out.

3,300lbs on a 40,000lbs+ aircraft will mean a slightly longer short take off roll using a ski jump. Admittedly vertical landing will mean jettisoning stores. However it has also been reported that the F119 engine to be used in JSF is currently producing 2,500lbs more thrust than originally intended. I have no doubt that JSF is currently overweight at this stage but to claim "carrier work is out" seems a bit sensationalist to me.

All Sea Harriers (FA2) will be scrapped by 2006, with the FAA re-equipping with the Harrier GR9/9A, which are currently due to see service until 2015.

The two new future Aircraft Carriers are currently planned to enter service in 2012 and 2015.

On another note people seem to be obsessed with scrapping the carriers I presume on the notion that they are seen to be the most expensive defence aquisions for the future. However the two carriers are projected to cost £4 billion in total, whereas the Eurofighter Typhoon aquision is costing £18.6 billion and even the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft programme is costing £13 billion.

[Aldo]

Its a bit of a nightmare, with the typhoon a bit of a joke of course.

lol May, I knew it was you before I even looked at the name. It ain't no joke, leave the poor thing alone.

Anyway, they have 8 years to fix it and even if they don't the CVF is still designed to use conventional take off aircraft like the F-35C so it's not really a huge problem in my opinion.