10 Reasons Nearly Nothing Can Stop the F-35 Stealth Fighter
04 Mar 2021 Loren Thompson
"Collectively, these ten indicators support the assessment of the late Senator John McCain that the F-35 is destined to be “the greatest combat aircraft in history.”...
... 1. F-35 is the most survivable fighter in the world.... The Air Force’s F-22 fighter is similarly survivable, but some facets of the F-35 design are stealthier.
... 2. F-35 is the most versatile fighter in the world.... All three variants host advanced electronic warfare systems and other technology suitable for engaging in information operations.
... 3. F-35 is the most lethal fighter in the world.... an F-35 can precisely destroy multiple targets in a single flight while incurring far less risk than legacy fighters.
... 4. F-35 is being purchased by a dozen allies.... Allied participation ensures that forces engaging in future coalition warfare will share similar capabilities, simplifying the execution of war plans.
... 5. F-35 is operational with nine nations and ten services.... The F-35... is steadily replacing legacy fighters on four continents, reinforcing the global air dominance so crucial to U.S. and allied war plans.
... 6. F-35 is being continually improved. F-35 technology is frequently upgraded as new threats appear and new technology becomes available. The 15th production lot will feature new sensors, displays and apertures designed to keep the aircraft at the cutting edge of performance. Eleven new capabilities are being added to the electronic warfare suite, capabilities that either were not feasible or were not affordable when the program began. Some of the latest enhancements will reduce the cost of producing and operating the fighter. Planners are already looking ahead to the day when next-generation turbofan engines will increase the unrefueled combat radius of the aircraft to a thousand miles—a useful feature in the vast expanses of the Western Pacific.
... 7. F-35 is shaping the design of other aircraft.... In the United States, several key systems on the F-35 are being adapted for use on the Air Force’s future B-21 bomber, including the fighter’s F135 engines and its uniquely agile electronic warfare suite. Use of F-35 technology on other combat aircraft reduces the cost of their development and attests to the performance of the fighter’s core features.
... 8. F-35 is becoming much cheaper to build....At $78 million per fighter, the most common variant [the] F-35A...
... 9. F-35 is becoming much cheaper to operate. The cost per flight hour of operating an Air Force F-35 fell 23% during the Trump years. The data are hard to interpret because the government typically reports them in 2012 base years rather than in current dollars. Nonetheless, an apples-to-apples comparison indicates F-35’s cost per flight hour is comparable to that of the Air Force’s legacy F-15C/D fighters. As of 2020, Air Force F-35s cost about 50% more per flight hour than the F-16, but the F-35s are several times more productive in terms of delivering effects such as the suppression of enemy defenses. Additional reductions in cost per flight hour are expected as maintenance procedures are refined and onboard technology is enhanced.
... 10. F-35 is the cornerstone of future Air Force plans. The Air Force is expected to absorb 70% of the F-35’s domestic production run. That will be sufficient to replace all of its Cold War F-16s. Air Force Chief of Staff C.Q. Brown last month described F-35 as the “cornerstone” of his service’s future fighter capability, pledging not to take money out of the program to fund more advanced concepts. As the only stealthy tactical aircraft currently in serial production, F-35 is the Air Force’s sole viable option for replacing its Cold War fighter fleet with aircraft capable of meeting the demands of modern warfare. The Air Force will continue to experiment with other concepts, but there is little doubt that F-35 is central to sustaining U.S. global air dominance."
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