The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is misunderstood? China doesn't think so.

Is the F-35 Misunderstood? The Joint Strike Fighter set out to become a platform which would fulfill many roles and replace several aircraft. Over the course of its development, it has received its fair share of criticism. We will take a look at why the F-35 may have been unfairly compared to previous fighters, and what the Lightning brings to the table.

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#China #jsf #procurement #defence #update #swiss #air #force

[ShawnHinck]

It’s fun to watch people talk about how terrible of an aircraft it is because they read an interview with a test pilot sorting out the FLCS 8 years ago but ignore all of the Viper and Raptor pilots who’ve transitioned over and love it and ignore it’s results at red flag. The safety concerns over the crashes were also laughable given no one complains about other aircraft with much higher accident rates.

[lando]

The thing about the F-35's cost over-runs is that technically this could be good in the long run. The F-35 was an overly-ambitious project to combine everything into a single platform, now since it is finished, the US will take the lessons learned from this beast and use them to improve it's next-generation fighter. And since it has experience with all the new technology implemented into the F-35 and with 5th generation technology in general it will likely mean that the US will be able to create a far cheaper 6th generation fighter in comparison to its adversaries. So these cost over-runs may actually putting the US way ahead of China and Russia. Then again, MAY is the key word.

[Dyson_Cyberdynesystems]

While I prefer the Raptor, I do appreciate that the Lightning II's engine produces as much thrust as the Super Hornet, and has a higher max takeoff weight which is significantly more than the Viper's. Got to respect that.

[gmeister]

No one talks about the other systems removed from the kill chain when you put the F-35 to work.
This saves lots of money and streamlines your ability to function.
With the Raptor there actually weren’t any design requirements. The reason was the ability to perform first look, first kill and they felt that the manufacturers were more than capable of coming up with something that would perform well and that’s what they did.
The point I’m trying to make is that the capabilities of 5th green fighters is so far ahead that almost anything that can competently fly and stay hidden will dominate the air.
So many are commenting how it’s not about stealth yet over and over the red flag maneuvers demonstrate that it is.
We have a huge edge over potential threats and any shortcomings the technology brings with it can be overcome.
For years Russia has been building planes that on paper should be the best yet they’re not because they’re still behind on modern avionics.
Until they can bridge that gap maneuverability won’t help them except on rare occasions

[justinzak]

I've heard it described as a fighter AWACS. Makes sense.

[Idahoguy]

The EA-35 Lightening would have been the most accurate designation.

[APMo]

VTOL capability is almost overkill on the battlefield. To be able to land without a runway for ammunition resupply etc along with sensor fusion and drone support. Yes it is most definitely misunderstood. Consider it to be the
jockey’s for the workhorses.

[PasleyAviationPhotography]

I think the main problem was outright saying it was going to replace 4th gen platforms. I think because of that a lot of people (myself included) were expecting a stealthy F-16 or similar. However, 4th gen fighters had speed and maneuverability as a top design priority, hell they didn't even have lightning pods n' such that are essential today. We now know stealth works so suddenly it became priority, so I am absolutely amazed they designed a strike fighter that has essentially all these fancy pods built in while still being able to race to Mach 1.6 and can maneuver in the process.

[SurfnTurfdfl]

Highly under rated fighter, with the cost overruns and bugs the software had at it’s inception, of course people will criticize everything with it, the abilities it has and potential new features they are working on, it’ll be one formidable multi role fighter!!!

[willwill]

The military is trying to save money, some how, by moving to single engine jets with a more common platform between branches that will help reduce costs into the future. With so many different aircraft now it is most likely a nightmare to rely on the many different manufacturers. It will be
easier to track overall unit costs and
and help to maintain a more manageable inventory of spare parts when there are fewer difference s in aircraft. If the next GEN jets have no pilots the military will Have a major advantage in costs and capability over jets today. Can't wait to see what the future brings.

[myusername]

People need to stop associating super maneuverability with dogfighting. Energy maneuverability is what most modern fighters are built for and is the most effective. Super maneuverability just gives you that one chance at a shot which if you miss, will leave you completely defenseless against the enemy aircraft with more energy than you.

[specrtre]

Not to mention, it actually maneuvers excellently in visual range combat. Thanks for a great video

[herbertgomez]

Of course she's misunderstood, name one platform that wasn't. The Boeing B-29 had it's issues at first, then fate stepped in and the rest is history.

[spartanx]

0:47 while I love the f/a term (my favorite aircraft is classified as such) the air Force doesn't use it (nobody called the f-15e the f/a 15e) and a 35 would be even worse as it is capable of performing air superiority mission's
2:00 damn man you sounded really enthusiastic about the f15

[frankcrawford]

The f35 will just keep getting better and better and more battle tested, more upgraded, more better!

[danielkinney]

I think part of the problem with the perception of the F-35 is that people always seem to be comparing it, in both looks and maneuverability, to a clean F-16. They forget that, in an actual combat loadout, an F-16 usually carries 2 external tanks and a targeting pod and bombs for air-to-ground sorties (or a targeting pod + HTS pod for SEAD). The F-35, on the other hand, has enough internal fuel and stores capacity (and an internal targeting pod, too) that it doesn't need to put any draggy stores on the outside to complete similar missions. So in a more realistic wartime setup, the F-35 is actually at least as fast and maneuverable as its predecessors, on top of being stealthy and having vastly better sensors and computers than an F-16 or Hornet. It's also worth pointing out that people said back in the 80s that the Hornet was too expensive and not a big enough improvement over older aircraft, and that the F-16 didn't have enough capability to be genuinely useful. Yet today, both of those planes are legends that have been exported all over the world. So I don't think the F-35 will end up being looked on as a failure.

[ravenmoon]

There have now been 700 F-35 produced for 13 countries. It’s important to note, every pilot who has flown one from all of these counties agree that the F-35 is the most deadly fighter in the world. It is a revolutionary fighter that is redefining what a fighter should be. At the moment, it’s upkeep is on the expensive side, but that will reduce over time. It’s cost has dropped to the point where each aircraft actually cost less than its 4th gen rivals. It is highly upgradable and the ones that will be flown in 10 years will be much more deadly than they are even today.

[cotabom]

Belive it or not.. I used to hate the F-35. I thought it was the ugly offspring of the F-22, but that was also when I didnt know much about aircraft. However.. After I learned more about it.. Why it was built, the different models, capabilities, payloads and integration.. I fell in love. I now know the F-35 series isn't just some F-22 spin off. It is it's own unique platform ment for heavily diverse conditions that our US allies can use effectively for defence or attack. I love the F-35 and I hope to see it keep fighting the good fight for decades to come.

[ArmorCast]

Interestingly, the RAAF is also looking to order F-35B's to operate them off of the Canberra class LHD's, and would give our navy its first fixed wing aerial capability since the old A-4 Skyhawks

[luccavanopdorp]

The f-35 has definitely been misunderstood, but i don't think that it will be the last manned fighter. Great vid!