re: #329 Dark_Falcon

One thing that kills our weapons programs is that they’re treated as jobs programs. It can be impossible to rationalize or streamline production, because jobs will be lost.

But even worse is contractors putting out low-ball bids to win the contract to build a system then jacking up the costs. It sends costs soaring, so we buy less units, thus driving the per-unit cost up and making the project a boondoggle.

What the F-35 needs is a BRAC (Base Realignment And Closure)-type process. A non-partisan committee will review all the evidence and make a decision, with a moderate bias towards getting the fighter into production. The way forward laid out by the committee then gets an up-or-down vote in both houses, to eliminate shenanigans. I see this as the best way forward.

I was in agreement up to the point of bias in favor of the project. If anything, the bias should be towards cutting it, with the objective of the committee being to find reasons not to do so. If they fail to do that, while in the process bringing down costs and pushing up delivery times, then the program automatically gets the axe.