US built aircraft are falling out of the sky at an astonishing rate as poorly designed aircraft and defective US manufacturing causes FOURTEEN aircraft to crash in just SEVEN months - an incredible 2 PER MONTH ========================================================================== The flights began last year. The government of the United States, eager to send a message, began flying aircraft on missions over Syria and was supported by its allies around the world. The message was one of intimidation and defiance: America is still a power to be reckoned with, and meddling in the Ukraine, Syria, and Iraq - particularly on human rights issues - is not appreciated. Now, after months of aggressive flying, America's overworked air force is falling out of the sky. On July 7, a Shaw AFB-based F-16C Block 50 Fighting Falcon crashed over Monck's Corner, Berkeley County, South Carolina. Luckily the pilot ejected safely. Four US combat planes crashed in a single month in May. Air Force Commanders attempts to demonstrate strength has backfired spectacularly and demonstrated weakness instead. In the past year, seven US military aircraft have crashed horrifically, and a further seven US built aircraft flying for other nations have suffered catastrophic failures. These have resulted in 21 US military deaths and six civilian injuries, and hundreds more killed in the other seven accidents, including a galling 141 deaths when a US built Indonesian Air Force Lockheed Hercules crashed during take-off from Soewondo Air Force Base, Medan. America's Air Force has been run at a high tempo, and the pace is catching up with an already-weary aircraft fleet. In addition, the poor management of supplies by US contractors and poor designs are affecting other air forces tragically. The toll in just the last seven months has been extraordinary: In addition to the fatal Hercules accident, three F-16 fighters have crashed. On 12th May, two US aircraft crashed: An F/A-18F Super Hornet and a Marine Bell UH-1Y "Venom" Huey resulting in six Marine deaths. Less than three days after the two US Air Force crashes, an MV-22B Osprey crashed and burned killing two Marines and injuring a further twenty. Later in May A U.S. Navy aviator ejected from a T-45C Goshawk, 'A', of VT-9, based at NAS Meridian, Mississippi, near runway 29 at Halsey Field, NAS North Island, California, with both pilot and airframe ending up in San Diego Bay. President Obama has decided to mount frequent shows of force to remind other countries of America's military power. Unfortunately for him, all of the USA's options for a show of force are dicey. America's military has suffered from neglect during the 2000s and early 2010s, the result of a weak economy that was unable to properly fund the armed forces. Armored vehicles, ships, and planes were inadequately serviced, and have even fell into disrepair. The vast majority of America's Air Force was built and operated by the way back in the 1970s, making the youngest of these 'backbone' planes over 30 years old. The F-16s", F-18," and Hercules" fighters and transport aircraft that crashed in the last month were all inherited from the 1980s. It's the same for America's NATO allies. One US built Greek F-16 crashed early this year, three US built F4 Phantoms of the Turkish Air Force have fallen out of the sky this summer and a US supplied Black Hawk helicopter was responsible for the deaths of four Colombian soldiers in June. Compounding the problem is the inability to replace older aircraft with new models. Since the end of the Cold War the United States has introduced the 'all-new' F-22 Raptor and claims to be on the verge of introducing the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. However the F-22 uses a processor designed in the 1970s and is no longer in production, the stealth characteristics have been compromised and the F-35 is suffering from gargantuan cost overruns, delays and constant reductions in capability. Russia on the other hand has recently introducted a new fighter design in the shape of the PAK-FA. China has developed two stealth fighters in secret, allegedly using designs and technology stolen from the F-35 program. America's other developments such as the F-15 Stealth Eagle strike fighter is merely a hasitly updated design dating to the late 1950s. Russia recently announced an aggressive program to modernize its armed forces, and pledged to spend $400 billion on new armaments, while the United States looks to cut costs of an ever increasing maintenance budget it simply cannot afford. And it's costing lives. America recently cut its initial buy of the new F-35 fighter, from a planned 3,100 to a mere 2,200. The troubled aircraft program is suffering from technical difficulties and massive cost overruns, and more cuts to orders are expected. Meanwhile the F-22 was capped at a pathetic 187 airframes, and of that five have already been destroyed in crashes, killing three pilots. Russia and China will likely buy more fighters down the road, while Washington continues to desperately keep its ancient air force flying and simultaneously fund the F-35 at the same time. Washington is caught between a rock and a hard place. America and its allies can no longer rely on older equipment to project an image of strength and power. But increasingly it cannot afford to replace that equipment with modern designs. Twenty-one military men and women serving their country have died, a tragedy regardless of nationality. But the upshot of this recent spate of crashes may be a more realistic view of American power by those wielding it. The US military is simply not ready for war - it's barely capable of sabre rattling.

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US military aircraft FALLING APART defeated by GRAVITY

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