.....Look them square in the eye and say "V-22 Osprey!" Then explain the following fact. :evilgrin:
Q: Is the V-22 Osprey aircraft a must-buy for the United States?
No: This weapons technology is flawed and too costly and should be terminated.
By Christopher HellmanThe Marine Corps considers it the centerpiece of its modernization program. The Pentagon's 1997 "Bottom-Up Review" calls it critical to improving the mobility of U.S. forces. Yet after more than a decade of delays, cost overruns and two fatal crashes in the last nine months, the V-22 Osprey faces an uncertain future.
Known as a tilt-rotor, the V-22 is a hybrid that takes off like a helicopter but flies like a traditional fixed-wing aircraft. It is designed to combine the maneuverability and lift capability of a helicopter with the increased speed of a conventional transport aircraft. The Marine Corps plans to use the V-22 to replace its aging fleet of medium-lift helicopters. In addition, the Air Force and the Navy each plan to purchase a small number of Ospreys to perform special-operations and search-and-rescue missions. In all, the Pentagon plans to buy 458 Ospreys at a
total cost of more than $38 billion, or $83 million per aircraft.
Full-scale development of the V-22 began in 1986 under President Reagan, and the first prototype flew in 1989. However, during the Bush administration the V-22 was a source of continual friction between then-defense secretary Richard Cheney and Congress. Cheney felt that the program's cost was unjustifiable, given its incremental improvements in capabilities and survivability. In fact, the Army, which originally had planned to purchase 231 V-22s, opted out of the program in 1987.
In 1989 the Bush administration canceled the project.<More>Then simply point out that the amount dedicated to HAVA (The Help Another Vendor Act!) is but a drop in the bucket compared to the money wasted by the very people that the voting systems will be used to choose! We wasted
more than 10 times as much money on this one failed system alone! We will use these systems to choose the people who will be in charge of the most devastating arsenal ever assembled. We CAN'T afford to make any mistakes! :)