On January 31, an F-16 fighter of the 8th Fighter Wing of the US military stationed in South Korea crashed near the "Gunsan base", and the pilot ejected and escaped.
This is also the second consecutive month that the F-16 fighter plane of the US Air Force stationed in South Korea has crashed, the last time occurred on December 11 last year, and a US F-16 crashed at the "Gunsan base".
The pilot was rescued after parachuting and flew to the hospital for a medical examination, and it is likely that the injuries were not light.
At present, the 35th and 80th fighter squadrons under the 8th Fighter Wing of the US Air Force are stationed at the "Gunsan base", both of which are equipped with F-16 Block 40 fighters. The production time of this model of F-16 is 1988~1995, and the latest production of F-16 has been 28 years old.
Theoretically, the F-16 manufactured in the 1990s has a body life of 8000 hours (equivalent to 70 years old), and the aircraft of the 35th and 80th squadrons are about 40~50 years old, and if it is properly maintained, there will be 8~10 years of use is not a problem, but last year, a total of 4 F-16s of the US military stationed in South Korea crashed, while the US military stationed in South Korea only had 70 F-16s, and the proportion of non-war accidents is extremely high, which is the reason for improper logistics support and even chaotic management!
In peacetime, such major accidents are frequent, but how much can the improvement rate be maintained in wartime? This also makes the outside world question the combat effectiveness of the US military.
Frankly speaking, the military strength of the United States is still the strongest in the world, and the quality and quantity of equipment both have a great advantage, the problem is that weapons and equipment are complex industrial products, in addition to being able to skillfully control, logistics maintenance also occupies an extremely important position, the greater the maintenance of mechanical and electronic integration equipment, taking F-16 as an example, if you want to ensure a safe flight (3 hours), it takes more than 10 people and more than 10 hours of maintenance time, and the maintenance time of these old F-16s of the US military stationed in South Korea will be extended, but the current situation of the US military is that the source of qualified soldiers is getting less and less, and even failing the exam (equivalent to 59 points) can become a soldierThe problem is that intellectual, physical and even addicts can become soldiers, how much hidden danger does this have?
Therefore, it is normal for the US military stationed in South Korea to drop planes so frequently, and accidents occur frequently with such sophisticated equipment as airplanes.
The gray-haired old technicians in the Boeing assembly plant, it is true that the aviation manufacturing industry needs a backbone of people with rich technical accumulation (at least 10 years of work experience), but the question is what is the future of a factory with a group of 50-year-old uncles and aunts as the backbone?
Because the aviation industry is currently the only industry in the United States that still has international competitiveness, it is also related to the rise and fall of the US Air Force, but after deindustrialization, not only the quality of civil aircraft has seriously declined, for example, the Boeing-739 MAX 8, which crashed many times not long ago and dropped the hatch after taking off, MAX9, this is the manifestation of the decline of American aviation, and the civil aviation industry has a big problem, the military industry is also greatly affected, the lack of skilled workers, parts and components are getting more and more expensive, the finished equipment is ridiculously expensive, the price of maintenance and repair is rising, but the quality of maintenance is getting lower and lower, this can't be helped, the hollowing out of the industry means that the aviation industry system is getting worse and worse.
Two months after the successful test flight of the B-21 bomber, the "War Zone" website reported: The US Air Force can't wait to sign a contract with Northrop Grumman for low-speed initial test production, although the fighter in the 2020s is designed with a large computer and AI-assisted design, and has experience in the manufacture and use of B-2 bombers, but such an expensive aircraft only has one test flight to low-speed test production is really shocking, the United States is confident in its own aviation manufacturing capabilities to such a point? This is completely to take advantage of the last batch of old engineers and old manufacturing technicians before retiring to "snatch out" dozens of planes, so that they can be ahead of China and Russia for 8~10 years in the strategic bomber area, as for when the 100 planes of this project can be completed with quality and quantity, it is not a matter that the people in the position can manage now.
At present, the three major aircraft manufacturing companies in the United States are all such pot-bellied and thankful uncles, and when you open the thick Boeing brochure, there are few young people in it... All aspects are already in thin supply.
January 20 this year is the 50th anniversary of the first flight of the F-16 fighter, and it is estimated that these people in the picture were made when they were young.