Go to ground.news/Sandboxx to stay fully informed on military developments around the world. Subscribe through my link right now for 40% off their Vantage Plan, which is what I use everyday.
@SandboxxApp A L E X !!! Sorry for yelling. Use your clout to start a go fund me ( Or something similar but a little more formal and professional) for NGAD. I'm sure there is a lot of money that would come in. If people knew their dollars would actually go directly to this program. A donation separate from tax dollars. I would definitely donate towards it.
Ahh yes CR spending. We were building an app for one of our lakes to upgrade their dock permit tracking. With no budget, no money in a time when we could have knocked it out by Christmas. Now it is having to share time with 3 or 4 other priorities and maybe the end of this FY?
It should be illegal to make omnibus bills. The reason why the defense bills get delayed is because people want to pour their unrelated-to-national-security pork into the defense budget.
Agreed, but this is largely a consequence of lobbying, if the wealthy PACs who backed the congressperson in question don't get their due, they'll drop them like a hot potato and pick someone who will. Unfortunately, "ban lobbying" is something popular among the common people, but not so with our politicians.
we also want term limits, anti corruption investigators, stock market bans for politicians. But we ain't getting none of that, because that doesn't help the corrupt to be more corrupt. And there is no way to vote our way out of this, as both parties really love their corruption. Like, a lot.
It was comments about timing and funding allotment for FY26... having to choose which programs to prioritize... reporter specifically asked about NGAD and he said that is one program that would have to be prioritized when it comes to spending. Cant put all eggs in 1 basket and not be able to pivot if threat assessments change... typical political answer... but they could cut back on some of the funding in 26, like the Navy did in 25, and add more back in in 27 or 28, just extending it out longer, to allow more upfront funding for other programs closer to production
@@johnoliver4739 Did he say this part "to allow more upfront funding for other programs closer to production"? That seems like the B-21 in all but name. I don't know anything about the Minuteman replacement timeline, tbf.
@@Varadiio Insanely over time, insanely over budget, and the Minutemen are insanely over their sell by date. So the perfect storm if you ascribe to chance someone waiting too long to do something about a problem that they have known about for over a decade. So less storm, more long line of can kickers.
Missing out on air dominance and superiority for the next several decades seems so shortsighted and ill advised I couldn’t believe we wouldn’t make NGAD. Gotta do it for the lore
Why? The Ukraine war has shown that Russian aviation isn't nearly as good as projected. Ukraine is being armed with nearly 40 year-old F16s and these are likely to be equal to anything they Russians have. Russian planes aren't much of a match for older Patriot systems, older Soviet-era aircraft, etc. by a foe with a massive numeric disadvantage. Modern western missiles on far older aircraft, drones, older HIMARs, and other systems are easily destroying them. Further, Russia won't even be able to face the US with even these as its losing aircraft quickly and new aircraft production is in serious trouble due to sanctions, demographics, etc. There is little doubt that F15s, F22s, or F35s would decimate Russian aircraft in any actual fight against modern western air forces. China relies on copies of Russian tech and so they have all the same issues. Exactly who is the US supposed to fight that it can't already defeat fairly easily?
I mean yes, but the thing is, the F-35 is meant to be able to be upgraded, and it's getting an insane upgrade as we speak. Over double the sensors, weapons payload near par with the F-22, an even crazier radar than it already has (and the radar has already been proven to be able to track, lock on to, and get a weapons solution on a cruise missile), new weapons that every plane that can carry them is getting, all in a package that comes back as a steel marble on radar from far away. And that's just the hardware upgrades. That's not including its capabilities. The radar can take missiles fired from 4th generation aircaft and guide them as the non stealthy aircraft goes cold. With the f-15 EX's insane weapons payload, that's an incredible recipe for air dominance. And I didn't even touch on all the other things the F-35 can do and all the upgrades it's getting.
I second this. If active control and RDE/RAM engines on the horizon. I actually don't blame them for not going all in on a new fighter that doesn't have these technologies! A jet that flies without the typical flight surfaces would make one hell of a stealth fighter.
Outstanding episode! This show isn't telling you what you already know, or providing inaccurate info in a computer generated voice, like a lot of the "military channels" out there. This is original analysis and much more valuable than the cost of clicking thumbs up.
I am a Military Avionics Test Engineer and I was shaking my head through most of this video thinking "This'll never work" until he started talking about the Gambit procurement method. That sounds like the way to go. Only upgrading systems that need it every 5 years will keep the NGAD current and the costs, which are gonna be high, down to manageable levels. Just my opinion, take it or leave it.
Not building NGAD is not an option because there is no substitute for air dominance. If theres one thing we learned in the modern era its that you either control the air or you lose the war so we'll have to bite the bullet and build this fighter without question.
Yes, but expensive jets are not the only way to achieve air dominance. Space and access to space is frequently more critical to mission success. The loyal wingmen and drones are proven to be supremely effective at saturating the airspace. What good are secret high energy radars and sensors if you can't counter all the threats. Heck you could even put cheaper disposable radar jammers onto balloons or blimps for a fraction of the cost.
I went to ground news not using your link and savings. Than went using your link. Both were identical same savings, no difference. I love your shows,think your great ar what you do. Just thought you might want to know this. Loyal subscriber
Might I suggest the problem isn’t a lack of funds, so much as available funds having been wasted and used poorly. With the national debit still growing military might better not slip…. I mean it’s not like we have the manufacturing power we once did…
Weeeeeee doooooo thisssss alllll theeee timeeee. We spend billions upon billions in research and development. Then to turn around cut the program completely or the programs numbers. It’s so frustrating it’s no longer funny. We have no long term vision whatsoever.
The dollar is losing value fast, costs are going up up and up. Not to mention the new generation of engineers at all these major weapons companies aren’t prioritizing national security anymore like their forefathers that built the B-2s and F-22s. They were told to get into engineering for the money! They just want a check!
Actually this is part of that vision. New programs are proposed as test beds for advanced technologies which are cutting edge. Then we kill the program and deploy those technologies on future programs as cost becomes more manageable. Its an element of strategic ambiguity, or more concisely, "The Kansas city Shuffle"
@@neo2190 Probably cause their grandpas and forefathers were able to afford houses and leisure for a tiny salary. Maybe that could have continued if their greed and gluttony didn't screw over every generation that came after?
My impression has been the original century series are not, as a whole, a group of particularly well-regarded fighters. In fact, they seem to get trashed a lot.
Congress has been a major roadblock for defense acquisition for decades. The entire LCS program was a disaster entirely because of Congressional meddling. And the fact that fewer and fewer legislators have any actual military experience only makes their lack of understanding more problematic.
How exactly have all of those officers that have gone before congressional committees and testified under oath that the LCS is a perfectly good and survivable ship(classes) been a fault of congressional meddling? The statement you made is so astoundingly stupid that I have to actually defend congress on something with is bizarre enough, but again, it wasn't just congress forcing the navy to buy theses things. Unless of course all the officers and DoD people testifying at, who knows, how many hearings were all not merely lying about the LCS and its abilities, but were up there lying as part of a scheme in conjunction with congress to lie about the lying.... Oh, I'm sorry, you're right. The US military is above reproach and things like corruption. They should be in charge of everything and we would have no problems.
This was deeply informative. It was shocking to learn that NGAD was being downgraded in budget priorities. But now you provide an excellent explanation which renders the inexplicable explicable. Thank you, sir.
I love the fact that as I watch different channels to see what is going on with all my favorite military planes, (IM AM A MILITARY AIRCRAFT NUT) and love to hear the other channels quote Alex as a aircraft expert. It’s just awesome to be a member of this great Wherei get all the information I really need. Keep up the awesome work Mr. Hollings !
There is a little photo failure at 10:57 concerning the Century-Series of US fighters: that's not a F 106 Delta Dart at the bottom of the right side! Round air intakes with spikes, firmly mounted fuel probe protruding to the right side, round non-edged form of the cockpit canopy, Matra R 500 Magic Air to Air missiles and MBDA Mica RF or IR variant air to air missiles under each wing, an engine exhaust that doesn't fit to a F-106 Pratt & Whitney J75-17 (F- 106A) turbofan nozzle. And last but not least: the F-106 Delta Dart had no centerline pylon for a fuel tank!! Nope, this is a French Mirage 2000 (may be the C variant) single seater with US-markings! Best regards from Germany.👋
What people need to realize is that development as a whole, not just fighter craft, doesn't need to be state of the art. We don't need a fighter that can keep pace with hypersonic missiles, we need a fighter that can keep pace with progress. We see it with the F-22 not being able to integrate with data links and take IRST units, despite it having been the best air superiority fighter that money could buy. Things need to have an open architecture that can take future technologies, otherwise they won't stay superior for their projected lifespan.
Wasn't the century series acquisition model the reason why we didn't get a dedicated air superiority fighter for a long time since the F-86 until the F-15?
@@tbe0116 the F-4 wasn't a dedicated air superiority aircraft, it was used for the role sure, but wasn't designed with that in mind from the get go unlike the F-86 and F-15.
The way Ive heard it, the Multirole concept was more the culprit bc it suddenly became harder to sell dedicated purpose aircraft bc a bunch of uneducated politicians decided Air Superiority was something Multirole fighters could do.
@@tbe0116 Funny the F4 started as a Navy program. And all the century fighters are Air Force. The Air Force was pre occupied in the 1950s and into the 1960s with Strike, nuclear Strike. This left America totally unprepared for the tactical battle field in Vietnam. Wrong aircraft, wrong doctrine, wrong command structure. Have things changed? The Airforce still wants big, expensive, sharp pointy Mach 2 stealth aircraft to blow up a Toyota pickup.
Aussie here. Its like my favourite American line ever and i have mastered the accent and say it in unison with the presenter. So yeah, you're not alone mate ;)
As a government contractor, I can say without reservation that the root of the problems are: The AF rotates the people in charge too often. People in Congress that hold the purse strings change too often. Politics is rooted too deep into defense. The government beauracracy moves too slow for technology. The AF fails to look far enough into the future.
The first time I heard the projected price tag for the NGAD, I knew there was going to be a problem. They cut the Raptor buy by 75% and NGAD is not a better deal. There's one question the Pentagon needs to answer: Where are the long range, stealthy strike drones? The answer to that question is more than 50% of the solution to America's future air dominance.
@@extragoogleaccount6061 Wingmen are going to accompany manned fighters to multiply a strike force. The strike drone I'm talking about has the role of today's fighter/bomber and is the main strike platform.
The X-47B was canned in 2015, but it fit that bill nicely. Stealthy, payload capable, and so friggin accurate that it wore down the non-skid on carriers because it kept hitting the same spot on the deck when landing.
Haven't you and everyone else said this about the last 10 fighters. F35 was going to be a shambles and never get off the ground according to most pundits.
The issue is if you buy a "short term" fighter with the intention of replacing it fast, you can guarantee the next administration will take the saving by not replacing it.
Hopefully the source code for the F-35 avionics can be handed out as part of this new century series, as it'll be a great way to reuse technology. It's the first ever written in a modern programming language
The US Government sounds like it learned the expensive mistake of privatized software access, so for the B21 and other future projects mandated government ownership of the source code.
I think the issue is more reputational. Lockheed is very busy with the F-35 and F-22 programs and well known to take longer at their programs then the brass would like. Boeing is in deep doodoo because of all their controversies, see T-7 Redtail, loose parts in tankers and all the crap in their civilian side as a few examples. Northrup Grumman is busy with the B-21 and the Naval NGAD programs. There is no contractor available with enough bandwidth to tackle the Airforce's NGAD program. Might be better for them to let the naval program develop and adopt a land based version of that.
Lockheed did something similar with the F35. A marine unit received 6 F35Bs , all of them had something wrong with them and it wasn't the same thing on all 6 but different things and multiple. Whoever was working on those jets did a "screw it" job. Lockheed can't even complete their refresh 3 so that Block 4 upgrades would be possible. Not only that a couple European countries received their first F35s and they received them in the most basic configuration when the contract stated it needs to be the latest tech version , it might have been The Netherlands , or Belgium or Denmark, I'm thinking the first one.
A lot of reason for these delays not widely researched by the general public but TR3 is essentially a new jet. Not a bandwidth issue but a cutting edge tech developmental delay issue. Industry bandwidth isn’t the issue here, industry can ramp fairly quickly. It’s the veiled wishywashy nature of DoD development needs that leads to constant iteration, churn, and waste. When there’s constant funding restraints and change orders, the talent leaves, equipment goes into storage, and ripples are felt 5 tiers down into the supply chain. Then some fool on the internet starts pointing fingers, gains media traction, pressurizes the DoD, then political pressure comes down hard on the program. It’s a tale as old as time.
Alex, your content is some of the best on the whole interweb. You should be proud of the work you produce. (If only the entire internet was of this quality!)
This doesn't really surprise me. One thing we can predict is that unmanned drones (the loyal wingmen) will get more capable and CHEAPER with every year. The manned NGAD will get more expensive. PLUS -- engine tech is advancing fast - as shown by the Hermeus Chimera. So much is changing so fast that it may make sense to not commit right now.
@@LunaticTheCat Yep. Right now the idea is one piloted NGAD and two loyal wingmen. Well, what if it turns out to be one NGAD and 6 loyal wingmen?? OR --- NO NGAD, and 20 drones??? OR NO NGAD, and a swarm of self-directed drones??
To be fair, there are a lot of new stuff that can be applied to the 35 and 22 for massive upgrades: new durable stealth coatings, new engines that are more fuel efficient, GaN AESA. All those 3 can make provide a big perf leap to the F-35 without any crazy complex project.
Lockheed can't even fix their software so that F35 can be upgraded to Block 4... have you see Block 4 upgrades , it's like science fiction but if 3rd refresh isn't happening for the software Block 4 isn't happening either.
I can’t help but wonder and worry about the potential implications of moving to ~5 year lifespan airframes from a pilot training and proficiency standpoint. It takes a lot of time and resources to train pilots on a specific airframe, and even more time for pilots to become very proficient on that airframe. Shorter airframe operational life seems to me to mean frequent retraining, and less experienced pilots. Now I do admit that as technology continues to progress, the amount of training required to transition between airframes may decrease significantly, but I can’t imagine the need to retrain would ever go away entirely. I just find this aspect of the whole idea of moving to shorter lifespan airframes hard to explain around, at least on the surface. I’m very curious what everyone else’s thoughts on this are.
It's not the fault of Congress as a whole, new is Republicans, who block anything from getting done - even if it's something they want - or even someone they largely had a hand in creating - simply to prevent progress during a Democratic administration. They're insane.
That quote by the army chief was pretty cryptic, but rather than finances or spending, it seemed to be more about the pace of technological advancement. I think he was implying that tech and automomous systems are evolving so fast and in a direction such that it might make the program condidered "Next Gen" completely obsolete by the time they get to building the craft! I wonder what he's seeing to get that idea?
I don’t see how you’d be able field new fighters so often like the digital century series when suffering tax cuts so often. So many budgetary compromises are being made because of the tax cuts. I’m okay with paying more taxes to pay for the tech that would put us back on top. I’ve always, and will always vote against tax cuts.
@@cadennorris960 You have to put aside your pride for this. The Chinese government released a statement shortly before the U.S. announced the NGAD delays. Supposedly the Chinese are set to reveal their 6th generation fighter by the end of this year. America is not getting a next generation fighter, Mr. Norris. This is the ultimate sign of decline in our Republic.
Lol, you have the biggest _and_ second-biggest airforces on this planet. You are very much already on top. (and since I live in a tiny NATO country, I hope it stays that way)
This should come as a bit of a relief. Boeing wasn't content with just screwing the entire commercial air industry and passenger base over, they're now stranding astronauts in space as a bonus. We cannot afford the possibility (50% at this point) that they would get the contract.
How dare you slander Boeing, a patriotic weapons maker. It is treasonous to speak ill of our military industrial complex. Next to the Bible and the NRA, they are untouchable and like President Trump, above the law and immune to criticism. I'm reporting you to my local MAGA chapter.
Considering the apparent capabilities and lack of success with the US’ primary opponents, Russia and China, they could’ve also decided they just don’t need the NGAD just yet. Neither the SU-57 or J-20 struggle to even partially duplicate the F-117’s stealth performance. And maybe they could theoretically match the F-22 in agility/maneuverability etc…but that’s much use when you can’t even tell if you’re being targeted. Russia’s land army is in shambles, it’s navy is almost non-existent. China’s army and navy might be in better shape, but their ability to send it anywhere is next to non-existent and they seem to be struggling with building reliable and effective aircraft carriers.
Yeah, but that assumes Chinese leadership is sane. As we can seen in Russia's example, people who stay in power for too long, particularly in an autocracy, tend to get drunk on power and own propaganda, and make insane decisions once they decide they're invincible
China's ability to project power globally is nonexistant because that isn't the war they are planning on fighting. They want Taiwan, and other than that they are geared entirely defensively and plan to influence the globe via economy. The US has a big problem against China right now in that they have a lot of very capable anti-air and anti-ship missiles that makes any conflict with China very costly. Perhaps the B-21 will help negate a lot of that, but I can't help but feel leaving a gap in the air dominance modernization category isn't negligible. At the same time, perhaps the other capabilities they are considering putting money towards instead will better counter China's current missile advantage than an airframe designed to deal with other airframes.
ICYMI, China is CRANKING OUT J-20s! Meanwhile, Russia is producing Su-57s; granted, they're producing them slowly, but they can still produce them. As Alex said, we'll never get another F-22. So, there's that...
@@markymarknj the Russian su57 is something that could be easily dealt with with existing assets, they're just "dressed up" su-35. And they're never going to produce a significant amount of those. They can't even build their t-14 tanks for financial reasons (as stated by their officials, I assume they have other reasons for that such as shortage of critical electronics due to sanctions). A plane is harder to produce and it's much more expensive. China is an issue at least due to their quantitative advantage, so if not ngad, at least CCAs need to be mass produced and control of those implemented in f-35, f-22, f-15ex and other aircraft. Mind you, I'm pretty sure the Chinese overstate both capability and quantity, but it's better to overprepare in their case.
"Digital Century" would have allowed us to have the YF-23... Not necessarily the actual fighter. However, we would not had to leave an equally qualified fighter to scrap. Or the Super Tomcats would have been viable. Especially as both the Super Tomcats and YF-23 are ironically better qualified for the foreseeable combat criteria emerging. That we will have more working designs that could be leveraged toward foreseeable threats and challenges much more quickly. This would also mean having an all-in-one superplane will not be an absolute requirement. Although that will not stop the occasional F-14 from springing up now and then.
The US Army "just" chose General Dynamics and Rheinmetall as finalists for the 4000 Bradley replacement IFVs. Could you do a Firepower series video about this program, the two finalists and the other three that dropped out. Or more generally the current state of IFVs (Bradley, CV90, Puma, Lynx) and their most likely future. Maybe even including anti air IFVs like some CV90 variants and SkyRanger.
You have made this same request to Alex several times already. Perhaps you should send this request to Cappy at his Task and Purpose page? He was part of a Stryker vehicle team.
The amount of profit these defense contractors are making on these projects is so staggering that maybe they should just invest in their own companies enough money to stay on budget and schedule so they don't keep causing prices to spiral upwards out of control and maybe they wouldn't have entire projects they worked so hard on get cut and our military won't get screwed out of having the entire originally planned fleet of F22s or whatever else they were originally promised at a price that quickly evaporated into oblivion. Why don't these companies have to sign contracts that require them to deliver a specific product at a specific price and make it work? For the good of the country? When they are getting filthy rich no matter what anyways? It's because the industrial military complex is holding the country hostage. Paying politicians to start wars that justify their existence in the first place. That's where at that extra money is going, they use our money to finance the system by which we are being subjugated by. They are just stealing from us with extra steps and peoples lives being lost as a consequence.
They fought the wrong war at the wrong time. Not only was it a money suck, it revealed major problems in our "superior" technology and industrial base - skilled workers capable of getting clearances, shipyards and dry docks, resources... Plus it encouraged others, who aren't our friends, to innovate based on the new reality. There's no way planners can anticipate what's coming down the pike. Especially with AI. It's like investing in small cap stocks. You lose 9 out of 10 bets and hope the 10th makes you rich. Thank goodness for the Atlantic and Pacific and our food and energy independence.
Note to the editor: Chill the f*@# out with the intro music volume. I cannot comprehend why editors always have to have the volume of music so much louder than the narration. You just blasted the hell out of my hear drums for no damn reason
I would bet at least one of the "difficult decisions" is manned or unmanned. There's increasingly smaller advantages to manned over unmanned, and the pricing is 10 to 1 or more in favor of unmanned. New stealthy unmanned drones can accomplish everything the manned aircraft can and the F22's and F35's will remain viable in standoff mode until drones have cleared the battle space sufficiently to allow the manned aircraft to enter.
Might I suggest the problem isn’t a lack of funds, so much as available funds having been wasted and used poorly. Couple that with poor choices in government effecting inflation quite badly, and the national debit still growing military might better not slip…. And I’m not reffering to the last administration or two… since about the 60s some really stupid economic choices have been made and continue to cost us…
Never should’ve cancelled the F-22 program. Never should’ve started the NGAD and F-35 programs until the aging fleet of fighters were replaced with F-22s and their potential variants.
the f-35 was mired in delays, partly due to the us military constantly changing requirements. that's part of the problem: the us military is being too indecisive on what they want. the us navy's ngad is fortunately not suffering this fate, bc they first decided on what tech before proceeding to the airframe surrounding it. that tho comes on the heels of a large number of similar failures around ships bc of the same indecisiveness problems the army and air force are having
lol it’s how engineering projects work. The scope changes all the time. It is not remotely unusual and the ones complaining are the ones furthest removed from the world of technology development
@@BoschhammerActual You can still improve technology without having to scrap entire assembly lines and redirect them towards other projects. I’m just trying to provide alternatives to help fix costs is all. Besides, you don’t always need to be innovating something new every two months if you can gate keep your opposition(something that the U.S. doesn’t seem to want to do these days).
They dug themselves in a hole with the F-22. It was an incredible aircraft that came at the wrong time and now they're stuck with a limited number of aging aircraft that never had the chance to live up to their potential. They'd be best off cutting their losses and making something new but the sunk cost fallacy is very strong, especially for politicians
The issue isn’t sunk cost it is that we could go to war any day now (not trying to be an alarmist, I doubt we will go to war any time soon) and if we divest the F22 fleet without a replacement ready then we’d lack a dedicated air superiority fighter. We need both a replacement and modernization of the F22 in the meantime but the money apparently just isn’t there. We could easily raise our defense budget to 4% or 5% of our GDP.
@@SoloRenegadeThe point is as time goes on the f22s ability reduces in comparison to advisaries The sunk cost is the money that's gone into developing the platform and how that affects future investment to maintain and upgrade its capability in an environment that is advancing against it.
@@jonathanbowen3640 keeping the F-22 on has NOTHING to do with "sunk cost". Sunk cost does not apply here. we have to keep the F-22 since we have no suitable replacement yet. Cost has nothing to do with it. It's about loss of capabilities when teh world is on the edge of war.
Boy Alex, you hit the nail on the head! Now give this invaluable information to the President he'll inforce these ideas for Congress to approve these new ideas at a lower price!👍👍
Thank you for the excellent video and perspective. I am wondering where this leaves the US Navy and the F/A-xx. I realize they are separate programs. But, is the Navy anticipating tapping into NGAD tech (engines, radar, electronic warfare), or maybe NGAD manufacturing capacity (contractors)? If the Navy accelerated F/A-xx would that impact or influence the USAF?
@@jqmachgunner2577next year (edit 2027) something will fly, then roughly ten years it would enter service. Getting a flying plane is not actually that difficult. It's all the other stuff that the craft would have to do and how to actually build and maintain it that's the tricky part.
@jonathanbowen3640 The USAF reports it is already testing NGAD features on F-22 test planes such as stealth attack drones that will fly under the control of F-22, F-35, B-21, and NGAD jets, projected hologram decoys that will divert any missiles, and laser beam weapons (which will enable the B-21 bomber to attack targets and protect itself.
@@lukeamato423 your obviously not well versed in determining possible from Improbable or how often Improbable actions are taken from military actors with big budgets.
Go to ground.news/Sandboxx to stay fully informed on military developments around the world. Subscribe through my link right now for 40% off their Vantage Plan, which is what I use everyday.
Pretty Cool.
@SandboxxApp A L E X !!! Sorry for yelling. Use your clout to start a go fund me ( Or something similar but a little more formal and professional) for NGAD. I'm sure there is a lot of money that would come in. If people knew their dollars would actually go directly to this program.
A donation separate from tax dollars. I would definitely donate towards it.
says this and ignores the f35's lol which already partially replace the f22
Ahh yes CR spending. We were building an app for one of our lakes to upgrade their dock permit tracking. With no budget, no money in a time when we could have knocked it out by Christmas. Now it is having to share time with 3 or 4 other priorities and maybe the end of this FY?
So you'll know, it's Continuing Resolution not "continual".
It should be illegal to make omnibus bills. The reason why the defense bills get delayed is because people want to pour their unrelated-to-national-security pork into the defense budget.
Agreed, but this is largely a consequence of lobbying, if the wealthy PACs who backed the congressperson in question don't get their due, they'll drop them like a hot potato and pick someone who will.
Unfortunately, "ban lobbying" is something popular among the common people, but not so with our politicians.
@@NucleAri what's sad is we all know this happens, what you're talking about in your comment/reply....but sadly nothing is done about it!!!!
@@NucleAri lobbying is in turn incentivized by Congress ignoring the General Welfare clause and passing the crap the lobbyists want anyway.
we also want term limits, anti corruption investigators, stock market bans for politicians. But we ain't getting none of that, because that doesn't help the corrupt to be more corrupt. And there is no way to vote our way out of this, as both parties really love their corruption. Like, a lot.
This is why the US stays 20 years ahead of potential enemies... especially in Aircraft... everything else, not so much recently..
Ah yes, the only foe capable of taking down the USA’s military: budget constraints.
Thanks to soviet union for tapping out of the cold war 😂
It is the first and greatest enemy of all militaries
God dammit we need to be more like Russia and North Korea, just using all the money on military, those nations are great to live in...
@@authoritariangentleman7570 idk man, I heard the surface of Mercury is pretty competitive in terms of living conditions…
@@maniac117I do hope he is ironic
3:23 to skip the ad
T y
You can skip all the ad at 20:25
I kid.
Poor man's sp0nce or block :)
@@BoraHorzaGobuchul doing the lords work (manually)...
thx mate
Hard to evaluate the General's statement without the context of knowing the exact question he was answering.
That was my thought as well.
Agreed. That response could’ve been to somebody asking him if his wife had decided on a new car.
It was comments about timing and funding allotment for FY26... having to choose which programs to prioritize... reporter specifically asked about NGAD and he said that is one program that would have to be prioritized when it comes to spending. Cant put all eggs in 1 basket and not be able to pivot if threat assessments change... typical political answer... but they could cut back on some of the funding in 26, like the Navy did in 25, and add more back in in 27 or 28, just extending it out longer, to allow more upfront funding for other programs closer to production
@@johnoliver4739 Did he say this part "to allow more upfront funding for other programs closer to production"? That seems like the B-21 in all but name. I don't know anything about the Minuteman replacement timeline, tbf.
@@Varadiio Insanely over time, insanely over budget, and the Minutemen are insanely over their sell by date. So the perfect storm if you ascribe to chance someone waiting too long to do something about a problem that they have known about for over a decade. So less storm, more long line of can kickers.
Missing out on air dominance and superiority for the next several decades seems so shortsighted and ill advised I couldn’t believe we wouldn’t make NGAD. Gotta do it for the lore
Even though I gave your comment a 👍
...and how much do you pay for this content?
I just want to see NGAD fly
Why? The Ukraine war has shown that Russian aviation isn't nearly as good as projected. Ukraine is being armed with nearly 40 year-old F16s and these are likely to be equal to anything they Russians have. Russian planes aren't much of a match for older Patriot systems, older Soviet-era aircraft, etc. by a foe with a massive numeric disadvantage. Modern western missiles on far older aircraft, drones, older HIMARs, and other systems are easily destroying them. Further, Russia won't even be able to face the US with even these as its losing aircraft quickly and new aircraft production is in serious trouble due to sanctions, demographics, etc. There is little doubt that F15s, F22s, or F35s would decimate Russian aircraft in any actual fight against modern western air forces. China relies on copies of Russian tech and so they have all the same issues.
Exactly who is the US supposed to fight that it can't already defeat fairly easily?
I mean yes, but the thing is, the F-35 is meant to be able to be upgraded, and it's getting an insane upgrade as we speak. Over double the sensors, weapons payload near par with the F-22, an even crazier radar than it already has (and the radar has already been proven to be able to track, lock on to, and get a weapons solution on a cruise missile), new weapons that every plane that can carry them is getting, all in a package that comes back as a steel marble on radar from far away. And that's just the hardware upgrades. That's not including its capabilities. The radar can take missiles fired from 4th generation aircaft and guide them as the non stealthy aircraft goes cold. With the f-15 EX's insane weapons payload, that's an incredible recipe for air dominance. And I didn't even touch on all the other things the F-35 can do and all the upgrades it's getting.
@@BW022........can the USA Destroy a Tic tac lol....?
color me red, white and blue but if it's outclassing and setting the new global standards of air power then take my tax dollars 💀
Tariff dollars, we’ll make chyna pay for it
@@HubertofLiege And China will make you pay for theirs with tariffs.
if Donald Trump wins the election now in November, yes, then the US will buy Russian defense equipment, it is cheaper
MTG will be responsible
Your money was spent 20 years ago. At this point they're spending your great grandkids money.
Id pay double my taxes if it meant the air force could fly X wings
A video about the X65 and active flow control would be cool.
I second this.
If active control and RDE/RAM engines on the horizon. I actually don't blame them for not going all in on a new fighter that doesn't have these technologies!
A jet that flies without the typical flight surfaces would make one hell of a stealth fighter.
And the BAE Demon and its derivatives.
Outstanding episode! This show isn't telling you what you already know, or providing inaccurate info in a computer generated voice, like a lot of the "military channels" out there. This is original analysis and much more valuable than the cost of clicking thumbs up.
I am a Military Avionics Test Engineer and I was shaking my head through most of this video thinking "This'll never work" until he started talking about the Gambit procurement method. That sounds like the way to go. Only upgrading systems that need it every 5 years will keep the NGAD current and the costs, which are gonna be high, down to manageable levels. Just my opinion, take it or leave it.
Not building NGAD is not an option because there is no substitute for air dominance. If theres one thing we learned in the modern era its that you either control the air or you lose the war so we'll have to bite the bullet and build this fighter without question.
Yes, but expensive jets are not the only way to achieve air dominance. Space and access to space is frequently more critical to mission success. The loyal wingmen and drones are proven to be supremely effective at saturating the airspace. What good are secret high energy radars and sensors if you can't counter all the threats.
Heck you could even put cheaper disposable radar jammers onto balloons or blimps for a fraction of the cost.
Ukraine says otherwise. So far, anyway.
@@zacnewman7140 Ukraine is a really small geographic area, you can’t really do bvr
@Snoop_Dugg ...oh, sorry, that was aimed at the OP.
@@Snoop_Dugg Ukraine is actually a pretty large land mass. BVR is only about 20miles. From west to east Ukraine is over 800miles.
Modularity and adaptability can be great, but beware the pitfalls demonstrated by the Navy's LCS ships.
I went to ground news not using your link and savings. Than went using your link. Both were identical same savings, no difference. I love your shows,think your great ar what you do. Just thought you might want to know this. Loyal subscriber
Might I suggest the problem isn’t a lack of funds, so much as available funds having been wasted and used poorly. With the national debit still growing military might better not slip…. I mean it’s not like we have the manufacturing power we once did…
Just quit sending 100's of billions to the ukraine
Weeeeeee doooooo thisssss alllll theeee timeeee. We spend billions upon billions in research and development. Then to turn around cut the program completely or the programs numbers. It’s so frustrating it’s no longer funny. We have no long term vision whatsoever.
The dollar is losing value fast, costs are going up up and up. Not to mention the new generation of engineers at all these major weapons companies aren’t prioritizing national security anymore like their forefathers that built the B-2s and F-22s. They were told to get into engineering for the money! They just want a check!
Lots of corruption going on as well. Lots of money to be made for individuals just for the program to be cut and never audited for frivolous spending
It's not like this r&d is lost though.
Actually this is part of that vision.
New programs are proposed as test beds for advanced technologies which are cutting edge.
Then we kill the program and deploy those technologies on future programs as cost becomes more manageable.
Its an element of strategic ambiguity, or more concisely, "The Kansas city Shuffle"
@@neo2190 Probably cause their grandpas and forefathers were able to afford houses and leisure for a tiny salary. Maybe that could have continued if their greed and gluttony didn't screw over every generation that came after?
lol @ 10:56 the F-106 Delta Dart is actually a skin for the Mirage 2000C from Warthunder.
Thanks.
I was scrolling through the comments to confirm this.
Brilliant overview as always, thankyou, Alex!
My impression has been the original century series are not, as a whole, a group of particularly well-regarded fighters. In fact, they seem to get trashed a lot.
Congress has been a major roadblock for defense acquisition for decades. The entire LCS program was a disaster entirely because of Congressional meddling. And the fact that fewer and fewer legislators have any actual military experience only makes their lack of understanding more problematic.
And the fact that the LCS was and still is a complete piece of garbage
TYVM
The blank check isn't enough?
You seriously have a problem with civilian oversight of the military?
How exactly have all of those officers that have gone before congressional committees and testified under oath that the LCS is a perfectly good and survivable ship(classes) been a fault of congressional meddling? The statement you made is so astoundingly stupid that I have to actually defend congress on something with is bizarre enough, but again, it wasn't just congress forcing the navy to buy theses things. Unless of course all the officers and DoD people testifying at, who knows, how many hearings were all not merely lying about the LCS and its abilities, but were up there lying as part of a scheme in conjunction with congress to lie about the lying.... Oh, I'm sorry, you're right. The US military is above reproach and things like corruption. They should be in charge of everything and we would have no problems.
@@timmilder8313Civilian governance isn't a problem. It's those who don't understand the military who are a problem.
This was deeply informative. It was shocking to learn that NGAD was being downgraded in budget priorities. But now you provide an excellent explanation which renders the inexplicable explicable. Thank you, sir.
I love the fact that as I watch different channels to see what is going on with all my favorite military planes, (IM AM A MILITARY AIRCRAFT NUT) and love to hear the other channels quote Alex as a aircraft expert. It’s just awesome to be a member of this great Wherei get all the information I really need. Keep up the awesome work Mr. Hollings !
Alex, your title almost brought me to tears
There is a little photo failure at 10:57 concerning the Century-Series of US fighters: that's not a F 106 Delta Dart at the bottom of the right side! Round air intakes with spikes, firmly mounted fuel probe protruding to the right side, round non-edged form of the cockpit canopy, Matra R 500 Magic Air to Air missiles and MBDA Mica RF or IR variant air to air missiles under each wing, an engine exhaust that doesn't fit to a F-106 Pratt & Whitney J75-17 (F- 106A) turbofan nozzle. And last but not least: the F-106 Delta Dart had no centerline pylon for a fuel tank!! Nope, this is a French Mirage 2000 (may be the C variant) single seater with US-markings! Best regards from Germany.👋
What people need to realize is that development as a whole, not just fighter craft, doesn't need to be state of the art. We don't need a fighter that can keep pace with hypersonic missiles, we need a fighter that can keep pace with progress. We see it with the F-22 not being able to integrate with data links and take IRST units, despite it having been the best air superiority fighter that money could buy. Things need to have an open architecture that can take future technologies, otherwise they won't stay superior for their projected lifespan.
This is the best report of them all about the New ENGAD Fighter Jets!!😅
Wasn't the century series acquisition model the reason why we didn't get a dedicated air superiority fighter for a long time since the F-86 until the F-15?
The F4 came before the f15
@@tbe0116 the F-4 wasn't a dedicated air superiority aircraft, it was used for the role sure, but wasn't designed with that in mind from the get go unlike the F-86 and F-15.
The way Ive heard it, the Multirole concept was more the culprit bc it suddenly became harder to sell dedicated purpose aircraft bc a bunch of uneducated politicians decided Air Superiority was something Multirole fighters could do.
The bomber mafia lives.
@@tbe0116
Funny the F4 started as a Navy program. And all the century fighters are Air Force.
The Air Force was pre occupied in the 1950s and into the 1960s with Strike, nuclear Strike. This left America totally unprepared for the tactical battle field in Vietnam. Wrong aircraft, wrong doctrine, wrong command structure. Have things changed? The Airforce still wants big, expensive, sharp pointy Mach 2 stealth aircraft to blow up a Toyota pickup.
10:57 that Delta Dart is one helluva Mirage
Alex, it can be divided into 3 contracts: design, production, maintenance.
Does anyone else involuntarily say "and THIS is Air Power" out loud? Prob not alone in this.
Yeah haha, it´s almost as iconic as that; "EA Sports: It´s in the game" line.
Aussie here. Its like my favourite American line ever and i have mastered the accent and say it in unison with the presenter. So yeah, you're not alone mate ;)
We got a 6th generation fighter, before a 6th generation GTA.
As a government contractor, I can say without reservation that the root of the problems are:
The AF rotates the people in charge too often.
People in Congress that hold the purse strings change too often.
Politics is rooted too deep into defense.
The government beauracracy moves too slow for technology.
The AF fails to look far enough into the future.
The first time I heard the projected price tag for the NGAD, I knew there was going to be a problem. They cut the Raptor buy by 75% and NGAD is not a better deal. There's one question the Pentagon needs to answer: Where are the long range, stealthy strike drones? The answer to that question is more than 50% of the solution to America's future air dominance.
Weren't that basically what the unmanned "wingman" concept was going to be? To go alongside NGAD. Were they a packaged deal or seperate programs?
@@extragoogleaccount6061Kind of both. NGAD is supposed to work with the various wingman things and have an unmanned variant of the NGAD
@@extragoogleaccount6061 Wingmen are going to accompany manned fighters to multiply a strike force. The strike drone I'm talking about has the role of today's fighter/bomber and is the main strike platform.
The long range stealthy strike drone is already in production. It’s called the B-21.
The X-47B was canned in 2015, but it fit that bill nicely. Stealthy, payload capable, and so friggin accurate that it wore down the non-skid on carriers because it kept hitting the same spot on the deck when landing.
Ouch!! At ~ 11 minutes, you showed a Mirage in the F-106 box, when discussing Century Series aircraft...😅
Haven't you and everyone else said this about the last 10 fighters. F35 was going to be a shambles and never get off the ground according to most pundits.
I really appreciate your videos. Thank you, Alex. I think they are amazing.
"Iii'm Ahlex Hollings... and THIS is AIRPOWWWWERRRR!!"
No your not. Stop lying! 😁
Yeah, thanks Barak.
_We ain't gonna fight no wars no more_ may play well in the cheap seats, but demonstrate extreme naïveté.
The issue is if you buy a "short term" fighter with the intention of replacing it fast, you can guarantee the next administration will take the saving by not replacing it.
Another outstanding video sir. Your animation has become world class.
Hopefully the source code for the F-35 avionics can be handed out as part of this new century series, as it'll be a great way to reuse technology.
It's the first ever written in a modern programming language
Haha, Uncle Sam paid for that code but it's actually owned by Lockmart, who would be happy to lease it to us for a tidy profit.
@@briankeeley6464Uncle Sam should have required that all software developed for the F-35 project be licensed under the Gnu Public License.
Wrong
The US Government sounds like it learned the expensive mistake of privatized software access, so for the B21 and other future projects mandated government ownership of the source code.
Only problem would be the logistics of parts for all these different aircraft as many would be overlapping in service.
I think the issue is more reputational. Lockheed is very busy with the F-35 and F-22 programs and well known to take longer at their programs then the brass would like. Boeing is in deep doodoo because of all their controversies, see T-7 Redtail, loose parts in tankers and all the crap in their civilian side as a few examples. Northrup Grumman is busy with the B-21 and the Naval NGAD programs. There is no contractor available with enough bandwidth to tackle the Airforce's NGAD program. Might be better for them to let the naval program develop and adopt a land based version of that.
Lockheed did something similar with the F35. A marine unit received 6 F35Bs , all of them had something wrong with them and it wasn't the same thing on all 6 but different things and multiple. Whoever was working on those jets did a "screw it" job. Lockheed can't even complete their refresh 3 so that Block 4 upgrades would be possible. Not only that a couple European countries received their first F35s and they received them in the most basic configuration when the contract stated it needs to be the latest tech version , it might have been The Netherlands , or Belgium or Denmark, I'm thinking the first one.
A lot of reason for these delays not widely researched by the general public but TR3 is essentially a new jet. Not a bandwidth issue but a cutting edge tech developmental delay issue.
Industry bandwidth isn’t the issue here, industry can ramp fairly quickly. It’s the veiled wishywashy nature of DoD development needs that leads to constant iteration, churn, and waste.
When there’s constant funding restraints and change orders, the talent leaves, equipment goes into storage, and ripples are felt 5 tiers down into the supply chain. Then some fool on the internet starts pointing fingers, gains media traction, pressurizes the DoD, then political pressure comes down hard on the program. It’s a tale as old as time.
@@wan3416 TR3 isn't a new jet at all. Just a new computer and related systems. Older versions can and will be upgraded to TR3.
Alex, your content is some of the best on the whole interweb. You should be proud of the work you produce. (If only the entire internet was of this quality!)
This doesn't really surprise me.
One thing we can predict is that unmanned drones (the loyal wingmen) will get more capable and CHEAPER with every year.
The manned NGAD will get more expensive.
PLUS -- engine tech is advancing fast - as shown by the Hermeus Chimera.
So much is changing so fast that it may make sense to not commit right now.
Good point. Drone technology in particular is changing at a blistering rate.
@@LunaticTheCat Yep. Right now the idea is one piloted NGAD and two loyal wingmen.
Well, what if it turns out to be one NGAD and 6 loyal wingmen??
OR --- NO NGAD, and 20 drones???
OR NO NGAD, and a swarm of self-directed drones??
18:21 ya we had a genius saying we wouldn’t need the F-22 or tanks anymore about 15 years ago…. Oh ya it was the president.
That President was Obama if I recall. That’s the Genius our media adores? 🙈
Yes. And his genius SecDef. Pres needed money for his social programs that successfully tore our nation, down to our families, apart.
10:57 Damn, that F-106 Delta Dart is damn sexy, but that's because it's actually a Mirage 2000.
Well done! When I realized the F-106 was a mirage, I went back and checked the other planes.
I have seen the demonstrator flying already. The capability is where it needs to be for further development.
In a an official statement from Lockheed/Martin they reiterated “working with UFO technology ain’t easy Sam, or cheap!”
To be fair, there are a lot of new stuff that can be applied to the 35 and 22 for massive upgrades: new durable stealth coatings, new engines that are more fuel efficient, GaN AESA.
All those 3 can make provide a big perf leap to the F-35 without any crazy complex project.
Lockheed can't even fix their software so that F35 can be upgraded to Block 4... have you see Block 4 upgrades , it's like science fiction but if 3rd refresh isn't happening for the software Block 4 isn't happening either.
I can’t help but wonder and worry about the potential implications of moving to ~5 year lifespan airframes from a pilot training and proficiency standpoint. It takes a lot of time and resources to train pilots on a specific airframe, and even more time for pilots to become very proficient on that airframe. Shorter airframe operational life seems to me to mean frequent retraining, and less experienced pilots. Now I do admit that as technology continues to progress, the amount of training required to transition between airframes may decrease significantly, but I can’t imagine the need to retrain would ever go away entirely. I just find this aspect of the whole idea of moving to shorter lifespan airframes hard to explain around, at least on the surface. I’m very curious what everyone else’s thoughts on this are.
so we have a recurring problem with a recurring solution. I might be missing something but I don't get it...
it feels criminal to be this early to an edition of airpower
How early do you think you are? Just watch the video and learn something should be the objective.
@@JSFGuy didn't mean to sound rude or anything.
swear, normally i’m about 6-8 months behind because there’s so much to watch😅
Great Content as usual
Glad to see you placing this at the feet of Congress.
Blame the Freedom Caucus. They don't have actual plans or policies beyond attempting to shut down the government
It's not the fault of Congress as a whole, new is Republicans, who block anything from getting done - even if it's something they want - or even someone they largely had a hand in creating - simply to prevent progress during a Democratic administration. They're insane.
Best military journalism on the internet.
Nothing says war footing like a wartime design and production strategy.
That quote by the army chief was pretty cryptic, but rather than finances or spending, it seemed to be more about the pace of technological advancement.
I think he was implying that tech and automomous systems are evolving so fast and in a direction such that it might make the program condidered "Next Gen" completely obsolete by the time they get to building the craft!
I wonder what he's seeing to get that idea?
I don’t see how you’d be able field new fighters so often like the digital century series when suffering tax cuts so often.
So many budgetary compromises are being made because of the tax cuts. I’m okay with paying more taxes to pay for the tech that would put us back on top. I’ve always, and will always vote against tax cuts.
Well you're a minority, because the majority don't want tax increases.
They gave up on the Century Series idea a while ago
We still are on top.
@@cadennorris960 You have to put aside your pride for this. The Chinese government released a statement shortly before the U.S. announced the NGAD delays. Supposedly the Chinese are set to reveal their 6th generation fighter by the end of this year.
America is not getting a next generation fighter, Mr. Norris. This is the ultimate sign of decline in our Republic.
Lol, you have the biggest _and_ second-biggest airforces on this planet.
You are very much already on top.
(and since I live in a tiny NATO country, I hope it stays that way)
My favourite channel, love from Australia
This should come as a bit of a relief. Boeing wasn't content with just screwing the entire commercial air industry and passenger base over, they're now stranding astronauts in space as a bonus. We cannot afford the possibility (50% at this point) that they would get the contract.
How dare you slander Boeing, a patriotic weapons maker. It is treasonous to speak ill of our military industrial complex. Next to the Bible and the NRA, they are untouchable and like President Trump, above the law and immune to criticism. I'm reporting you to my local MAGA chapter.
Adapt, adapt, adapt!! ten four. Enjoyed the whole show, as always, thanks.
Considering the apparent capabilities and lack of success with the US’ primary opponents, Russia and China, they could’ve also decided they just don’t need the NGAD just yet. Neither the SU-57 or J-20 struggle to even partially duplicate the F-117’s stealth performance. And maybe they could theoretically match the F-22 in agility/maneuverability etc…but that’s much use when you can’t even tell if you’re being targeted.
Russia’s land army is in shambles, it’s navy is almost non-existent. China’s army and navy might be in better shape, but their ability to send it anywhere is next to non-existent and they seem to be struggling with building reliable and effective aircraft carriers.
Yeah, but that assumes Chinese leadership is sane. As we can seen in Russia's example, people who stay in power for too long, particularly in an autocracy, tend to get drunk on power and own propaganda, and make insane decisions once they decide they're invincible
China's ability to project power globally is nonexistant because that isn't the war they are planning on fighting. They want Taiwan, and other than that they are geared entirely defensively and plan to influence the globe via economy.
The US has a big problem against China right now in that they have a lot of very capable anti-air and anti-ship missiles that makes any conflict with China very costly. Perhaps the B-21 will help negate a lot of that, but I can't help but feel leaving a gap in the air dominance modernization category isn't negligible. At the same time, perhaps the other capabilities they are considering putting money towards instead will better counter China's current missile advantage than an airframe designed to deal with other airframes.
ICYMI, China is CRANKING OUT J-20s! Meanwhile, Russia is producing Su-57s; granted, they're producing them slowly, but they can still produce them. As Alex said, we'll never get another F-22. So, there's that...
@@markymarknj+1000 social credit for you
@@markymarknj the Russian su57 is something that could be easily dealt with with existing assets, they're just "dressed up" su-35. And they're never going to produce a significant amount of those. They can't even build their t-14 tanks for financial reasons (as stated by their officials, I assume they have other reasons for that such as shortage of critical electronics due to sanctions). A plane is harder to produce and it's much more expensive.
China is an issue at least due to their quantitative advantage, so if not ngad, at least CCAs need to be mass produced and control of those implemented in f-35, f-22, f-15ex and other aircraft.
Mind you, I'm pretty sure the Chinese overstate both capability and quantity, but it's better to overprepare in their case.
"Digital Century" would have allowed us to have the YF-23... Not necessarily the actual fighter. However, we would not had to leave an equally qualified fighter to scrap. Or the Super Tomcats would have been viable. Especially as both the Super Tomcats and YF-23 are ironically better qualified for the foreseeable combat criteria emerging.
That we will have more working designs that could be leveraged toward foreseeable threats and challenges much more quickly. This would also mean having an all-in-one superplane will not be an absolute requirement. Although that will not stop the occasional F-14 from springing up now and then.
The US Army "just" chose General Dynamics and Rheinmetall as finalists for the 4000 Bradley replacement IFVs.
Could you do a Firepower series video about this program, the two finalists and the other three that dropped out. Or more generally the current state of IFVs (Bradley, CV90, Puma, Lynx) and their most likely future. Maybe even including anti air IFVs like some CV90 variants and SkyRanger.
IFVs aren't going anywhere.
You have made this same request to Alex several times already. Perhaps you should send this request to Cappy at his Task and Purpose page? He was part of a Stryker vehicle team.
even is its not used in NGAD, it would work with the drone swarm flying with it...
They just put pen to paper and they announced a two year delay
Source? Didn’t see anything in news
Probably because they need to build drones and missiles. But where are the people working on it going to go for two years?
The amount of profit these defense contractors are making on these projects is so staggering that maybe they should just invest in their own companies enough money to stay on budget and schedule so they don't keep causing prices to spiral upwards out of control and maybe they wouldn't have entire projects they worked so hard on get cut and our military won't get screwed out of having the entire originally planned fleet of F22s or whatever else they were originally promised at a price that quickly evaporated into oblivion. Why don't these companies have to sign contracts that require them to deliver a specific product at a specific price and make it work? For the good of the country? When they are getting filthy rich no matter what anyways? It's because the industrial military complex is holding the country hostage. Paying politicians to start wars that justify their existence in the first place. That's where at that extra money is going, they use our money to finance the system by which we are being subjugated by. They are just stealing from us with extra steps and peoples lives being lost as a consequence.
they stop production of f22 too early
They fought the wrong war at the wrong time. Not only was it a money suck, it revealed major problems in our "superior" technology and industrial base - skilled workers capable of getting clearances, shipyards and dry docks, resources... Plus it encouraged others, who aren't our friends, to innovate based on the new reality. There's no way planners can anticipate what's coming down the pike. Especially with AI. It's like investing in small cap stocks. You lose 9 out of 10 bets and hope the 10th makes you rich. Thank goodness for the Atlantic and Pacific and our food and energy independence.
Continuing resolution, not continual resolution...
That was driving me nuts. :)
Alex is so diplomatic. “Cultural inertia.” Love it.
Note to the editor: Chill the f*@# out with the intro music volume. I cannot comprehend why editors always have to have the volume of music so much louder than the narration. You just blasted the hell out of my hear drums for no damn reason
With a new congress, it's time to demand their corportation to get their part done. However, without the cost of unethical inflated pricing!!😮
We have more Governmenet than we know what to do with. We need to cut spending in all areas.....
Most based comment here
The government is a country within a country, loyal only to itself.
@@RavenRunFoxRoambasically no more 3 letter agencies🙏
@@CodyseusRexYou would love to see no CIA, FBI, AID, DIA, etc wouldn’t you Kremlin bot?
Any speculation on a improved version of the frontline guardian A-10 Alex?
Don’t let them kill that project or China will pass us.
I love the thumbnail so much.
If we don’t build and field the NGAD fighter I’m moving to Canada.
Canada just bought 70 F-35's.
Hang around. Politics might have us becoming Canada.
Very interesting update. A lot is riding on the Air Force to make the correct decision on future accessions.
What about the F/A-XX ?
Largely made obsolete by by email.
@@AlexAnteroLammikkogood one but you need to realize what you did
I would bet at least one of the "difficult decisions" is manned or unmanned. There's increasingly smaller advantages to manned over unmanned, and the pricing is 10 to 1 or more in favor of unmanned. New stealthy unmanned drones can accomplish everything the manned aircraft can and the F22's and F35's will remain viable in standoff mode until drones have cleared the battle space sufficiently to allow the manned aircraft to enter.
Might I suggest the problem isn’t a lack of funds, so much as available funds having been wasted and used poorly. Couple that with poor choices in government effecting inflation quite badly, and the national debit still growing military might better not slip…. And I’m not reffering to the last administration or two… since about the 60s some really stupid economic choices have been made and continue to cost us…
Cover future Awacs would be pretty cool. Ty
Never should’ve cancelled the F-22 program. Never should’ve started the NGAD and F-35 programs until the aging fleet of fighters were replaced with F-22s and their potential variants.
the f-35 was mired in delays, partly due to the us military constantly changing requirements. that's part of the problem: the us military is being too indecisive on what they want.
the us navy's ngad is fortunately not suffering this fate, bc they first decided on what tech before proceeding to the airframe surrounding it. that tho comes on the heels of a large number of similar failures around ships bc of the same indecisiveness problems the army and air force are having
lol it’s how engineering projects work. The scope changes all the time. It is not remotely unusual and the ones complaining are the ones furthest removed from the world of technology development
@@BoschhammerActual You can still improve technology without having to scrap entire assembly lines and redirect them towards other projects. I’m just trying to provide alternatives to help fix costs is all. Besides, you don’t always need to be innovating something new every two months if you can gate keep your opposition(something that the U.S. doesn’t seem to want to do these days).
I'm going to take a guess that Boeing doesn't get the contract.
Whenever I hear "modular" regarding military spend I think about money burning.
Modular, a misnomer for more expensive, doesn’t fit or …
Do a piece on digital security at subcontractors for the various war programs
They dug themselves in a hole with the F-22. It was an incredible aircraft that came at the wrong time and now they're stuck with a limited number of aging aircraft that never had the chance to live up to their potential. They'd be best off cutting their losses and making something new but the sunk cost fallacy is very strong, especially for politicians
The issue isn’t sunk cost it is that we could go to war any day now (not trying to be an alarmist, I doubt we will go to war any time soon) and if we divest the F22 fleet without a replacement ready then we’d lack a dedicated air superiority fighter. We need both a replacement and modernization of the F22 in the meantime but the money apparently just isn’t there. We could easily raise our defense budget to 4% or 5% of our GDP.
@@cadennorris960 exactly. until we have an F-22 replacement, retiring the F-22 would be ridiculously irresponsible.
Sunk cost fallacy doesn't apply to the F-22, it already exists and is operational.
@@SoloRenegadeThe point is as time goes on the f22s ability reduces in comparison to advisaries
The sunk cost is the money that's gone into developing the platform and how that affects future investment to maintain and upgrade its capability in an environment that is advancing against it.
@@jonathanbowen3640 keeping the F-22 on has NOTHING to do with "sunk cost". Sunk cost does not apply here.
we have to keep the F-22 since we have no suitable replacement yet. Cost has nothing to do with it. It's about loss of capabilities when teh world is on the edge of war.
Boy Alex, you hit the nail on the head! Now give this invaluable information to the President he'll inforce these ideas for Congress to approve these new ideas at a lower price!👍👍
It need a multiple test before it can have a green lights to be in service.
You don't think that the USA is already running innumerable tests before giving a green light to a new military product??? 😅
Fantastic as usual Alex.
NGAD = refurbished B-52 (B-52 J)
Dale Brown: Flight of the New Old Dog
I guess this was supposed to be funny, right?
Is digital century series development more profitable for shareholders?
We need a super F35. Bigger wings for fuel, and weapons.
Its called the f35c lol
Labor will always be the reason why things cost more then it should
That's what you get when you neglect all of your weapons systems for something like 35 years, and then insist on tax cuts for rich people.
Thank you for the excellent video and perspective. I am wondering where this leaves the US Navy and the F/A-xx. I realize they are separate programs. But, is the Navy anticipating tapping into NGAD tech (engines, radar, electronic warfare), or maybe NGAD manufacturing capacity (contractors)? If the Navy accelerated F/A-xx would that impact or influence the USAF?
Dont worry, us Brits will always sell you Tempest.
When will you have a real plane?
@@jqmachgunner2577next year (edit 2027) something will fly, then roughly ten years it would enter service. Getting a flying plane is not actually that difficult. It's all the other stuff that the craft would have to do and how to actually build and maintain it that's the tricky part.
@jonathanbowen3640 The USAF reports it is already testing NGAD features on F-22 test planes such as stealth attack drones that will fly under the control of F-22, F-35, B-21, and NGAD jets, projected hologram decoys that will divert any missiles, and laser beam weapons (which will enable the B-21 bomber to attack targets and protect itself.
NGAD may be delayed in favor of funding new golf courses on Air Force bases worldwide.
I get the feeling that the Pentagon is pushing for the fully 3D printed fighter industry...
That's not possible
@@lukeamato423 your obviously not well versed in determining possible from Improbable or how often Improbable actions are taken from military actors with big budgets.
@@Lex-n1k bud I literally did prototyping for l3 Harris, Lockheed ...wescam , Asc signal and many others
@lukeamato423 Even Musk is using 3D printing on his rockets