Will the Joint Strike Fighter Be as Successful as the F-16?

Published: Mar 30, 2006
Source: www.cdi.org



Remember America's P-39 "Aircobra" or the all-purpose Messerschmitt 210 Hornisse (Me-210 Hornet) of World War II? Or perhaps the U.S. Air Force's expensive all-weather F-89 Scorpion of 1950? Everyone should.
They carry important lessons. Each was an advanced technology combat aircraft, and the Bell P-39 was even low cost, relatively speaking. But each was a dismal failure. The P-39 was almost helpless against the Japanese Zero; the Me-210 - produced in considerable numbers – was such a disaster that German pilots refused to fly it, and it was fobbed off onto Germany’s “allies.” The F-89 didn’t even make it into the air combat of the Korean war. That a combat aircraft is “high tech” or even that it is expensive is no guaranty it will be a success in combat.continue..