Evaluation of General Sources

The F-35 joint strike fighter program, contracted to Lockheed Martin, and supported by the U.S. government and numerous allies has long been a subject of controversy in the aerospace industry. The series of fighters is intended to be used by U.S. and allied military forces. Debate has sparked over the cost of the project, as well as the numerous design setbacks it has experienced.


King Jr., Samuel "110714-F-OC707-508" 07/14/2011 via Flickr Public Domain

Sources

1. "Lightning Rod: F-35 Fighter Family Capabilities and Controversies" from Defense Industry Daily

URL:
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/lightning-rod-f-35-fighter-family-capabilities-and-controversies-021922/
The URL address ends in .com, which does not give much indication of the source's credibility. However, the name of the website suggests that it is a trade publication.

Author: The article only lists Defense Industry Daily staff as the author. This makes it difficult to assess the qualifications and credibility of the author.

Last Updated: The article was last updated 07/24/2015, indicating that the information is fairly up to date.

Purpose: The article is intended to inform the reader about the issue. The article provides a large body of contextual information regarding the F-35 program and the technical specifications of the fighters. It also analyzes four reasons for the controversy.

Graphics: Small images of the various types of fighters are included throughout the article to give the reader a more physical idea of the subject. Charts describing the specifications of the planes are also used to make the data more readable.

Position on Subject: The article addresses the issue objectively, while recognizing and analyzing both sides of the argument. It explores the pros and cons of the program.

Links: The article contains links to similar publications as well as links to other articles from Defense Industry Daily. It also has an extensive list of articles for further reading organized categorically.

2. "The $1 trillion F-35 tries to be all things, but succeeds at few, say critics. But is Australia’s new weapon now too big to fail?" from news.com.au

URL:
http://www.news.com.au/technology/the-1-trillion-f35-tries-to-be-all-things-but-succeeds-at-few-say-critics-but-is-australias-new-weapon-now-too-big-to-fail/story-e6frfrnr-1226950254330
The URL ends in .com.au. This tells the reader that it is an Australian website.

Author: The author, Jamie Seidel, is from News Corp Australia Network, and has a twitter account with 112 followers. He has also written articles on similar news sites.

Last Updated: The information in this article is about a year old, as it was published 06/11/2014. All of the links are still working. It is important to keep in mind that some of the issues discussed may have been resolved, and new issues may have been discovered.

Purpose: This article is intended to inform the reader and spark debate. The author discusses common criticisms of the project, and raises questions about the implications of a potential failure.

Graphics: Like the Defense Industry Daily article, this article incorporates pictures of F-35 aircrafts, as well as an infographic of design problems.

Position on Subject: The information is once again presented objectively. As an American reader, the article offered a different perspective on the subject because of its Australian origin (Australia is also invested in the project, but not as much as America).

Links: The article offers links to sites with more information on particular topics within the controversy.