Comments by "David Ford" (@davidford3115) on "The Weakness of the US Military (That the Ukraine War Has Revealed) - VisualPolitik EN" video.

I tend to agree with that assessment. The US has great potential to become the production powerhouse it was in WW2. But government taxation and over-regulation is hamstringing that capability.
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@qjtvaddict Cuts to education have nothing to do with that. In many states such as Indiana, 65% of the budget goes to education, and yet Indiana is NOT at the leading edge of breakthroughs. I will agree that choosing not to modernize and invest in upgrades has killed US productivity. Rather than use the extra money from profits to innovate, the CEOs, CFOs, and COOs have chosen to slim down and become "leaner and meaner" which actually is counter-productive in the defense industry.
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Which is ironic when you consider how the US Navy built up starting with the Spanish-American War. USS Oregon (BB-3, aka McKinley's Bulldog) was purposely built on the West coast so as to encourage more shipbuilding so that it was not exclusively on the Atlantic Coast. Then there is the fact that the US defeated Japan because we were producing ships faster than the Japanese could sink them. Before the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese production was effectively at its maximum capacity with almost no room for expansion.
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That is a far point. Those on the top of the heap become complacent. And complacency breeds corruption and stagnation.
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@johndavidmanuel2189 Funny you mention Russian vs. Ukraine as a measure of quantity vs quality. In that case, training is the decisive factor as both are using Soviet Tanks. The Russians are just completely terrible while the Ukrainians are using much of the very same equipment and showing why combined arms is critical in warfare.
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@dt6559 Indeed. People seem to fail to realize that the German Panzer was hands down the best tanks in the world at the time. But they were defeated when vastly outnumbered by the inferior T-34 on the eastern front or the Sherman Tank on the Western Front. Likewise, the German Battleship was the most robust capital ship in the world, but they were never produced in the vast quantities that British and Americans shipyards produced. The Messerschmitt fighter was a premier fighter aircraft. But when facing off against multiple Soviet Yak-3s they were quickly overwhelmed. The thing is technology has to be above a certain point for both training and numbers to off-set the disadvantage in the gap in capabilities.
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WW2 is NOT debatable. The Soviets would have never survived Operation Barbarossa without allied supplies coming into Murmansk. For 30 years after WW2, the annual Mayday Parades on Red square featured American built trucks.
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But how far behind schedule was that? And how grossly overbudget? The entire project is some 20 years behind schedule. Meanwhile, the Grippen was designed, tested, and perfected in that same time period.
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Graft and corruption. All of those kickbacks in the form of campaign donations.
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Today you would be correct. However, in WW2, the US shipyards were producing vessels faster than either the Germans or the Japanese could sink them. Just look at how many jeep and escort carriers were built in the war. Essex class fleet carriers alone outnumbered the total number of Japanese carriers.
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Yes and no. The training of Ukraine has only gone on since 2014. And during the first two months Russia had both the numbers and the equipment to crush Ukraine but squandered it. You belittle Ukraine's comeback by claiming that the untrained Russian conscripts are anything like the professionals who lead the drive on Kiev.
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@andrewlechner6343 The Gripen is a 4.5 generation but its cost-value most certainly makes it a competitor. And the cost per flight hour completely demolishes the F-35. Just because something isn't made in the US doesn't mean it is automatically worse. That being said, you don't need to be the best, only good enough where numbers can make up the difference. That is how the allies on both fronts defeated individually superior German tanks and aircraft.
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Captured T-90 tanks in Izyum prove that Russia is NOT holding back its best gear. Perun has a great breakdown debunking that myth, if you can spare 1 hour or so to watch it.
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I tend to agree. SAAB with their Gripen has shown to be a very viable alternative to the F-35.
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Asymmetric warfare. That is how all great Empires were defeated by an inferior foe. Much like with the Matador, you don't stand right in front of the bull; you let him pass just off to the side and wear himself out charging at a distraction.
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No, the F-22 and F-35 are not useless, but both are grossly overbudget. The F-35 was supposed to be the cheap and affordable version of the F-22 much like the F-16 was the cheap version of the F-15. but that has completely been ruined. In that regard, the Saab Gripen fighter is the better bang for your buck. And I agree with you about a War with China. Their j-16 interceptor was designed to be a F-22 Raptor killer. And the goal wasn't a one-on-one fight, but rather a 4 or more on one raptor fight. As you correctly point out, it would be a VERY messy fight for both sides.
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Collaboration on a project is NOT competition. The two are actually diametrically opposed. Right now, the only real competition with the F-35 is the SAAB Gripen. Not even the MiG-35 nor the Su-57 are in serious competition as their performance in Ukraine has greatly reduced their image.
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@Intelligence_History The Su-57 HAS been used in this conflict, but only over Russian controlled areas like Luhansk because they don't want the propaganda coup of Ukraine shooting one down.
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@sirdo946 And you have drank the military-industrial complex's kool-aid if you take their claims at face value. The F-35 is NOT as cheap as they claim as accounting gimmicks have been used to artificially reduce the numbers on paper. And yes, the Grippen is being seriously considered by Brazil, Ukraine, India, and Indonesia. and the Swedes and Fins have no intention of replacing theirs with the F-35 anytime soon.
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@sirdo946 Don't conflate facts with OPINIONS. Truth of the matter is that Finland IS doing performance testing of both F-35 and Gripen as are a few other nations, not simply taking the hype at face value. While the results are not yet in, the F-35 is not doing anywhere near as well as the advocates claimed.
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Because an Abrams tank is not the same as a Sherman. It is like comparing an economy car to a high-performance NASCAR vehicle.
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Pure bullshit. The airframe is 20 years behind schedule. There are supposed to be in excess of 1,200 airframes in service, yet only 360 are currently flying, mostly of the B configuration when they should already be on the F configuration.
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@JoelSalazarM Yeah, no other military project in history has been given the indulgences that the F-35 project enjoyed. If we went by the 1970s or even 1940s standards, it would have long been abandoned in favor of alternatives that actually delivered. Hell, numerous WW2 era and Cold War airframes and ship designs were abandoned because of the cost overruns and delays that the F-35 was permitted.
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@msimon6808 I don't disagree that Russia is worse. But that is no excuse for the largess in the West.
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Israel is everyday fighting for its very existence against hostile neighbors (Jordan has made peace and wants to keep it while Egypt is quietly undermining their official peace). Survival is a significant motivator for innovation.
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@howard6433 Funny you say that about Boeing because the East Asians passenger carriers have invested more in Boeing aircraft than they have in Scarebus. The A380 has NEVER delivered on ANY of its promises. And while the 787 has also failed to meet expectations, its immediate predecessor, the Triple 7 has become quite the ubiquitous airframe with its only accidents being exclusively operator errors. No other airframe can match the 777's safety record.
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@tbyte007 Yeah, you are talking about an attempt to modernize a proven design that first flew in 1967. What is the old saying? "If it isn't broke, don't fix it?" I noticed you didn't bother to even address the Triple 7's safety record, unmatched by any other airframe in history. It truly is the Magnum Opus of aircraft.
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@tbyte007 WH o care about the triple 7? Only because it has become THE choice replacement for both the 737 and the 747. it is rapidly replacing the previous workhorses because it has found the near perfect balance of capacity, range, and efficiency.
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@tbyte007 You are obsessing over a 55-year-old airframe and its recent modernization. And you blatantly ignore the much younger 20-year-old airframe with zero design flaws.
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@tbyte007 Yea a dirty little detail you are overlooking is that the existing 777 frames have NOT been decertified. It is the modernization elements of the 737 that they are trying to put into the tiple 7 that are not getting approved. Which means it isn't the airframe but the upgrades that are causing issues. Keep in mind that the 767 shares the same cockpit and nose as the 777 and it has not been having issues.
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And that is why the West will lose to Red China. Much like the Soviet Red Army, the military is more interested in pandering to "the Boss" rather than being competent. It remains to be seen if there is an American Gregory Zhukov who will turn the US military around.
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Switzerland requires mandatory two-year military service. And you are required to possess and maintain a rifle in your home at all times. How successful do you think Congress mandating small arms ownership would be?
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At what overbudget cost and how far behind schedule? It is still a boondoggle, especially as there is very little reason why they could not have simply sold the F-22 Raptor to the Aussies and the Kiwis. In many ways, the Grippen is a better airframe.
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@andrewlechner6343 6 to one is nice, but the Chinese are planning on throwing 20 of their J-16s at each. F-22 or F-35. They will use the "throw bodies at the problem" mentality. And I guarantee you that American war planners are grossly underestimating Chinese capabilities. There is a reason why Michael Pilsbury playing as the Chinese in American wargames ALWAYS wins (just like Erich Marcks who correctly predicted the Normandy Invasion).
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@ClockworksOfGL Just because propaganda says it has been debunked doesn't mean it is true. The F-35 has never been in actual battle conditions, unlike the F-22. And the few times the F-22 has seen combat, serious issues have come up, particularly with regards to potential "friendly fire". Truns out the stealth creates ambiguous situations were non-stealth airframes mistake allied stealth fighters as hostiles.
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I call hogwash on that. The system is still grossly overbudget and 20 years behind schedule.
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@groMMit1981 Yeah, something tells me that is merely what the defense industry claims, not the actually costs since politicians don't actually look at the fine print. The developers will tell you the materials and labor cost, but then conveniently leave out the premium they add to cover the R&D.
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Yeah, I am all for completely pulling out of Europe, save for a few forces in Poland. It is Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan who are worth spending blood and treasure protecting.
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