F35 Controvery - Ship Suitability Testing

The F35B Fighter has come under controversy, with cost overruns and development delays.  In Canada it has become an issue, where the Conservative government is being accused of having misled the public. 

The government calls it an accounting error, which showed the cost of the fighter separate from maintenance costs.  There have also been allegations that the fighter will not be capable of doing what it needs to do for the Canadian Forces.  The only thing the opposition parties and the government can agree to is that the aging CF 18 fleet needs to be replaced. 

The cost of the current procurement in Canada is predicted to be $25 Billion. 

The video shows latest sea trials of the F-35B on the USS Wasp. By every indication, these trials were very successful with 74 standard and vertical landings. The media and the program critics had predicted that the aircraft would burn holes in the deck and wash sailors overboard and neither occurred.  An intentional part of the trial was to have a sailor standing on the bow of the ship as the jet rotates.   He was not washed away, neither were any holes burned in the deck of the ship. 

The USS Wasp is an amphibious assault vessel, carrying a Marine Expeditionary Unit.  The ship was deployed to Bosnia in 1998 during a Strategic Reserve Exercise.  The ship is capable of simultaneously supporting rotary and fixed wing aircraft during landing craft operations.
 

DoD U.S. Military Casualties In Afghanistan as of 6 Apr 2012

Another nine Americans paid the ultimate price this week.  Seven were killed in action, while three others died of other causes and 45 were wounded.  While the main stream media is concentrated on the 2012 election campaign, Afghanistan after some attention after the Qoran burnings and the killing of 17 civilians by SSG Bales, Afghanistan has once again dropped off the radar.

Yesterday was also the 20th Anniversary of the Siege of Sarajevo, which got little attention by the US media, even though 11,500 people lost their lives.  The media kept busy with the perceived "War on Women" by the Republican party, Obama's comments about the unelected Supreme Court, with an interlude of the fighter crash at Virginia Beach into an apartment complex.  While the total number of casualties is not known, it appears that only seven people were injured and three families, who may be on vacation have not been accounted for, a miracle, in view of what could have been.

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This week, Mitt Romney picked up another 86 delegates after his primary wins in Wisconsin, Maryland and the District of Columbia.  Although Romney now has more than half of the 1144 delegates required, there is no sign of either Newt Gingrich or his main contender Rick Santorum withdrawing from the race.  Mitt Romney is now concentrating his efforts on President Obama, while he will still have to spend funds to ensure further victories over Santorum.  He has managed to close the gap in Pennsylvania, Santorum's home state.  A loss by Santorum would be a devastating blow.

President Obama has also concentrated his efforts on the presumptive nominee.  Needless to say this is what the main stream media is concentrating on. 
Regardless of the election campaign, there is still a war going on in Afghanistan.  Soldiers and civilians are still dying and even though it is not reported in the main stream media, men and women are still facing acts of violence on a daily basis. 
List of Casualties i.casualties.org

Below are this week’s updated DoD casualty figures:
Op Enduring Freedom                  Total Deaths       KIA   Non Hostile              WIA
Afghanistan Only                                   1805               1499         306                  15560
Other Locations                                        111                  13            98
DoD Civ Casualties                                      3                    1             2
Worldwide Total                                     1919                1513        406                   15560
Accumulated 2012 Casualties:
KIA            Non Combat Deaths             WIA
45                          37                                  382