airplane graveyard. tucson, az. 1999.

We need to rethink the way our government and the Department of Defense spend tax payer dollars. Years and billions of dollars are consumed on research and development to wait approval. If your design is selected, you win the huge contract and reap billions. If your design lost out, well, you still receive a hefty sum. See further: the F-22  and Y-23. Recently the Pentagon cut funding for the F-22s already in service and stopped further development. Apparently it is too costly and not needed.

Why not manufacture the designs and machines that have worked previously? An F-16 fighter is still the best in the world. It has been proven in the unfriendly skies. We also sell this design to our allies. It must be pretty good. When current weapons become unusable or obsolete, use them for the foundation of a replacement. Retrofit and replace the electronics, avionics and anything else with modern day ingenuity. All of a sudden, you have a new weapon that saved you billions. Brilliant.

Dear Detroit, you should be doing this for your automobiles too. How many junkyards are filled with reusable materials?

 

Author’s note: I am not a tree hugger.

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