The F-35 thread, Mk II

[Jackonicko]

Originally Posted by golder

Not cynical enough.

Smith can say what he likes. It was Jackonicko who did the hit piece. The truth is that if the euro 6th gen (I still haven't seen the tech that would qualify it as 6th gen yet) is as good as the F-35, compared in the same year. They would have achieved something, I though they would struggle with. As to it being as good as the USAF 6th gen, they would be dreaming.

I would hope that it isn’t a ‘hit piece’. Smith has an interesting perspective, and his background lends his views a certain weight and credibility. What he had to say challenged my preconceptions, and was, I thought, very compelling.


Smith justifies his claims in the piece and he really should know, as a former F-22 and F-35 pilot, ex-CO of the TES, former F-35 Requirements Manager and F-35 tactics honcho with the AWC. If he says that the F-35 will not be sufficient by the mid-2030s, I’d be inclined to at least consider his point and not reject it out of hand.


Nor was it an exercise in 'knocking' the F-35. Smith himself says that the F-35 is the best fighter out there as of right now (and will remain so for some years), but says that it's not going to remain well suited to the emerging and evolving A2/AD threat, and that its upgradeability is limited (look at the problems with integrating TR3/Block 4), not least by the avionics architecture, vendor lock, and its LO airframe. You can't even iterate new mission data with anything approaching agility.

Were the F-35 likely to be adequate in the mid-2030s and beyond, no-one would be spending money developing new sixth gen platforms and systems of systems. The USAF clearly doesn't think the F-35 will be the 'cornerstone' in the future – if it did it would not be developing NGAD and CCAs (and B-21) at huge cost.


I’d also very respectfully suggest that it would be a mistake to assume that the UK, Italy and Japan will ‘struggle’ to do better than the F-35 by 2035, or that Euro industry can’t come up with a step change in technology – that’s exactly what JAGUAR and ISANKE promise. Bear in mind that the ISANKE system will include a radar from the same people responsible for ECRS2 – a bleeding edge AESA with a repositioner and formidable EA capabilities – a radar that is in some respects better than APG-81, and part of a programme (with ECRS Mk 0) that suggests that it would be a mistake to under-estimate Europe. Just occasionally, Europe can and does come up with the goods - Meteor, Brimstone, Storm Shadow, the A330 MRTT all spring to mind as perhaps being unequalled by any US product? Nor should one write off the Japanese, remember that their F-2 was probably the first operational fighter with a purpose-designed AESA, and they have produced some interesting missiles, too!