Life without JSF

Let’s speculate about life without the JSF program. If the unit cost reaches or exceeds $100 million USD, then it makes more sense to cancel the aircraft and roll some of it’s capability into the F-22A, whose unit price should drop due to a much larger production line at that point.

So, let’s examine potential options for JSF customers if the JSF falls apart.

USAF: ok that’s just too easy-more F-22As. Next.
USN: the Navy gets the worst deal, having to settle for more F/A-18E/Fs.
USMC: they get the second worst deal only because they need fewer additional Super Hornets.

UK: let’s face it. Harrier is no longer needed. It’s a great aircraft, but a V/STOL jet fighter is no longer really important in modern-day war since the prospects of Russia blowing up airfields all over Europe is very very slim, no matter how many NMD sites that can’t hit SS-25s are put in Poland. So, the UK can fix it’s problems through the EF-2000 by speeding up the Tranche 3 program. That fixes the RAF. The RN? They have two options. Developing a naval Typhoon, or doing the smart thing and collaborating with France on the new carrier, making it CTOL, and buying Rafales. Problems solved.

Continental European buyers: the easy answer is just to buy either Block 70 F-16s (a projected new variant incorporating a DSI inlet, LOAN, and other reduced-RCS features, and new avionics and systems taken from the JSF program), or EF-2000s/Rafales. Problem solved.

Of course, the above options still deny other nations a first-day stealth aircraft, but that’s really irrelevant, as the USAF would have a bunch of on-call F-22As, ready to solve the problems the EU and NATO can’t fix themselves. This is of course contingent on my defeat when I run for President, otherwise I’m going to withdrawl from NATO and focus on realigning our strategic alliances to focus on Russia and China. But that’s another issue entirely :diablo:

Other export users can go the F-16 Block 70 route, or go for the Rafale or EF-2000, or even Gripen if they want to go cheaper.

So, if JSF really goes down, it won’t be the end of the world. There are other viable options. The advantage, if you can call it that, for export customers like Australia and Japan is that they would have a better chance of acquiring a then-cheaper F-22A.

Thoughts or comments?