Los F-35 y A-10 de la Fuerza Aérea de los EE. UU. Participaron recientemente en un vuelo para determinar qué armazón de avión es superior para proporcionar apoyo aéreo cercano, y existe una creciente ansiedad de que la competencia se haya distorsionado para hacer que el F-35 se vea mejor en este tipo de misión de lo que realmente es. Los críticos son escépticos porque la Fuerza Aérea ha ocultado los ejercicios de revisión pública y, según un informe del miércoles de Popular Mechanics, la rama de servicios «también está sesgando las pruebas para asegurar que el nuevo F-35 se presente de la mejor manera posible. «
Critics are skeptical because the Air Force has hidden the exercises from public review and, according to a Wednesday report by Popular Mechanics, the service branch is «also heavily skewing the testing to ensure the new F-35 is presented in the best possible light.»
The F-35A’s intended fate, to replace the F-16 Viper as the US Air Force’s de facto fighter-bomber, has not been contested since the aircraft has gone into production, with service officials doubling down on the promise of the F-35 despite high costs, missed deadlines and a constant stream of technical difficulties. The F-35A and F-16 are both single-engine, single-seat aircraft as well, making the replacement of the F-16 fleet with the Air Force’s F-35As a logical one.
What has been controversial, though, is the argument that the F-35 can replace the A-10 Warthog for close air support. As Popular Mechanics notes, close air support missions require a plane to function basically as a flying form of artillery, something the A-10 is ideally suited for with its 20-foot-long Gatling-type autocannon jutting out beneath the aircraft’s nose.
The stealthy, high-tech F-35 may have a lot of new capabilities that other US Air Force aircraft lack, but it is certainly not tailored to what the A-10 does when it slowly roams through airspace near battlefields, remaining stationed and ready for combat for prolonged periods.
All in all, the test was essentially a sham, according to the watchdog, which said: «Rather than telling us whether or not the F-35 can actually provide the kind of close support our ground forces need to survive and prevail, this grossly inadequate test has been designed to mislead.»
US Air Force officials and senior civilian service leaders can «undoubtedly» be expected to walk into the halls of power on Capitol Hill and proclaim, results in hand, that the «F-35 performed brilliantly, thus justifying bigger buys [of F-35 aircraft] and getting rid of the A-10 sooner,» according to the report from POGO, which was produced by Dan Grazier, the watchdog’s Jack Shanahan Military Fellow.
Fuente: https://sputniknews.com
