Comparisons to overweight American citizens are probably not welcome here.
A £5 billion defence project to supply Britain’s armed forces with the world’s most sophisticated fighter jet is facing severe problems because the aircraft is too heavy to be flown safely.
The Ministry of Defence has agreed to buy 150 of the new Joint Strike Fighter aircraft, which cost £35 million each, to replace the Royal Navy’s Harrier jump jets.
However, it has emerged that the warplane, which is being built by the US manufacturer Lockheed Martin, is 3,300lb overweight, making it difficult for a pilot to land the fighter without its wheels coming off.
The aircraft is also understood to be too heavy to carry out vertical take-offs, and requires too long a runway to land easily on the two aircraft carriers which are being built for the Royal Navy.
An analysis by Lockheed Martin has disclosed that the jet can only land safely if it has used its full complement of bombs and missiles and if its fuel tanks are virtually empty. Otherwise the undercarriage is likely to collapse during landing.
That’s just peachy.
(via GoaF)