{"id":30964,"date":"2018-09-16T23:00:56","date_gmt":"2018-09-16T23:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/09\/16\/modernization-or-death-heed-historys-lessons-on-the-f-35\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:13:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:13:09","slug":"modernization-or-death-heed-historys-lessons-on-the-f-35","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2018\/09\/16\/modernization-or-death-heed-historys-lessons-on-the-f-35\/","title":{"rendered":"Modernization or death: Heed history\u2019s lessons on the F-35"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you go to war, you must be equipped to win. That was the message veteran pilots from the Vietnam War delivered to me when I entered the U.S. Air Force in 1974. The same holds true today. That is why I am concerned when doubts are raised about the future of the F-35 fighter program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modernizing America\u2019s aerial arsenal with advanced capabilities is not an optional activity. Failing to do so will undermine the U.S. military\u2019s effectiveness<\/a> around the globe and put aircrews at undue risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some historical context here is important: The air war over Vietnam was an incredibly formative experience for the Air Force. The jets airmen took into combat, like the F-4 Phantom and the F-105 Thunderchief, were designed in the 1950s to fight a nuclear conflict. This proved far different than what they encountered in Southeast Asia. Too many men were killed or captured trying to make due with equipment that was not up to the job. Airmen were determined to address these shortfalls in the post-war years by fielding a new \u201cfourth generation\u201d of fighter aircraft designed to incorporate the lessons from Vietnam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1981, I was an Air Force captain stationed at Nellis Air Force Base \u2014 home to one of those fighters, the then-brand-new F-16 Fighting Falcon. It was an incredible aircraft, featuring leading-edge technologies such as fly-by-wire flight controls and redundant flight-control computers, unheard of maneuverability, along with unprecedented levels thrust and fuel efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, there was one problem: Our early F-16s kept crashing. We lost four aircraft in my first 44 days at Nellis. Wing commanders were lucky to last a month. In fact, there was a macabre joke circulating that if you wanted one of the new jets, just buy an acre of land off the end of the runway and wait.<\/p>\n\n\n\t