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Re:The Air Force is having to reverse engineer parts of its ... by ed25519FUUU on Wednesday March 03, 2021 @03:55PM (#26334387)
> ... Air Force’s Rapid Sustainment Office (RSO) was looking to industry for a “cutting-edge, automated 3D scanning system,” specifically intended to replicate aircraft parts that are no longer in production, including at maintenance depots.

You see the real issue? Even if they have the blueprints, it will be difficult to even manufacture the parts here.

There's so many more problems like this coming down the pipeline. We've effectively lost (or rather acquiesced) almost all manufacturing skill to other countries. This was a result of the largest corporations taking advantage of labor arbitrage and then flooding their home market out of business.

If we really want to reverse this, we need to do what it takes to bring manufacturing back to the United States. It's a painful reversal of the open-trade policies of the past. Honestly, Trump was right to fight so hard for this, even going so far as to remove us from NAFTA.

I don't have a good strategy for this, but probably some set of minimum manufacturing of everything should happen within our borders, say 10%, and accomplishing that target with a combination of sticks and carrots.

Re:The Air Force is having to reverse engineer parts of its ... by robotnikman on Wednesday March 03, 2021 @05:20PM (#26335569)
IIRC military hardware (ships, tanks, aircraft, etc) is required by law to be manufactured within the country, for obvious reasons.

Its some of the little manufacturing the country has left

Re:The Air Force is having to reverse engineer parts of its ... by Daho0n on Wednesday March 03, 2021 @04:46PM (#26335097)
Yet just landed on Mars, bringing a helicopter. Please don't spread FUD.
Re:The Air Force is having to reverse engineer parts of its ... by ed25519FUUU on Wednesday March 03, 2021 @05:27PM (#26335661)
How much of the spacecraft was manufactured in the USA? Are we able to create another one without our trading partners?
Re:The Air Force is having to reverse engineer parts of its ... by kube-system on Thursday March 04, 2021 @02:43AM (#26339774)
From the manufacturer’s website:

> Manufacturing, assembly and integration operations are located at Decatur, Alabama, and Harlingen, Texas.

https://www.ulalaunch.com/about

Re:The Air Force is having to reverse engineer parts of its ... by brokenmachine on Wednesday March 03, 2021 @08:08PM (#26337280)
Isn't that a good thing? Trading partners are unlikely to attack each other.
Re:The Air Force is having to reverse engineer parts of its ... by Daho0n on Thursday March 04, 2021 @04:28PM (#26348613)
Of the spacecraft? All of it.
Re:The Air Force is having to reverse engineer parts of its ... by wwww4alll on Wednesday March 03, 2021 @04:20PM (#26334725)
Unfortunately, your assessment is very correct. There will be no solution and only a slow decline as previous systems become obsolete and there no on to fix or upgrade to better systems.

This country is producing more Tik Tok stars than engineers that can sustain civilization.

Re:The Air Force is having to reverse engineer parts of its ... by austinshea on Wednesday March 03, 2021 @04:31PM (#26334882)
What a confident proclamation that is backed up by nothing, aside from your limited perspective.
Re:The Air Force is having to reverse engineer parts of its ... by wwww4alll on Wednesday March 03, 2021 @04:45PM (#26335089)
Name a successful plane developed recently by US military or commercial enterprises?
Re:The Air Force is having to reverse engineer parts of its ... by robotresearcher on Wednesday March 03, 2021 @08:37PM (#26337488)
Boeing 787 series. Young in plane years. Best airliner in the sky.

SpaceX makes working spacecraft.

Re:The Air Force is having to reverse engineer parts of its ... by wwww4alll on Wednesday March 03, 2021 @09:42PM (#26337975)
787 should have been a straight forward simple twin engine jet. Yet, it had Billions of dollars in cost overruns and still has major manufacturing safety issues. https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/09/09/boeings-woes-mount...

This country built Saturn 5 rocket, 50 years ago. Landed astronauts on the moon, with moon buggy and golf clubs.

Now we can barely launch basic satellites. How is this progress?

Re:The Air Force is having to reverse engineer parts of its ... by robotresearcher on Wednesday March 03, 2021 @11:21PM (#26338546)
There’s a reasonable chance you typed this on a pocket computer/communicator with an armful of MRNA vaccine in an electric car.
Re:The Air Force is having to reverse engineer parts of its ... by wwww4alll on Thursday March 04, 2021 @04:13AM (#26340305)
Which country built the pocket computer/communicator? Which country built the electronics, circuit boards, cables, batteries, housing and fastening screws?

Which country built the components and systems and subsystems that go into manufacturing an electric car?

Which country has lithium, rare earth metal processing capabilities critical in manufacturing all modern electronic systems?

Which country built the components and subsystems in the vaccine manufacturing plants?

Decades ago, US had the education system to move millions of people through manufacturing and engineering pipeline to build all above things.

Now, that US education system does not exist. The manufacturing base does not exist. The engineering pipeline does not exist.

We produce more dropout Tik Tok stars than Professional Engineers that develop critical cooling cores, that can withstand heat and stress thresholds in modern military aircraft, and master welders with 20 years of experience that can weld specialty metal alloys in compact designs.

It’s not just aircraft. Do you know who works on water treatment plants that provide clean drinking water to millions of people in US? These guys will be retiring in few years. Who are going to replace them? Who are going to do the hard and difficult job of maintaining these critical systems?

Re:The Air Force is having to reverse engineer parts of its ... by robotresearcher on Thursday March 04, 2021 @01:45PM (#26346406)
The UK has clean drinking water despite losing its manufacturing primacy to the US 100 years ago.
Re:The Air Force is having to reverse engineer parts of its ... by wwww4alll on Thursday March 04, 2021 @05:35PM (#26349448)
Tell that to people in Flint Michigan.

https://www.propublica.org/events/the-flint-water-crisis-an-...

No amount of rosy thinking is going change the course of decline in this country.

Re:The Air Force is having to reverse engineer parts of its ... by robotresearcher on Friday March 05, 2021 @02:23PM (#26360927)
Is lack of national engineering expertise in the top five reasons for the situation in Flint?
Re:The Air Force is having to reverse engineer parts of its ... by 1996 on Wednesday March 03, 2021 @04:53PM (#26335204)
I don't understand why you are getting downvoted.

Being unable to manufactures things we did in the past is extremely worrying