US Air Force / Airman 1st Class Duncan C. Bevan
December 26, 2021
Since 2006, the American corporation Lockheed Martin has produced about 730 F-35 fighters. And this despite the fact that its production is seriously behind schedule. Its popularity is due to the many advantages that they tried to describe in the Canadian press.
"The F-35 is the most sensational combat aircraft of the 21st century. The F-35 is the best fighter ever to fly"
- indicated in the military-thematic section of the HotCars publication, listing the advantages of this machine.
The F-35 is "armed to the teeth", as it has a rich arsenal of weapons, which is located inside the fuselage and does not interfere with its secrecy. These are 180 rounds of a 4-barrel cannon, air-to-air missiles (AIM-120 AMRAAM, AIM-9X Sidewinder, AIM-132 ASRAAM, MBDA Meteor), air-to-surface missiles (AGM-88G AARGM-ER, AGM- 158 JASSM), anti-ship missiles (AGM-158C LRASM), bombs (including laser-guided, AGM-154 JSOW) and much more.
This makes the F-35 a "versatile fighter" in contrast to the limited in their functions aircraft. For example, the Soviet Il-2 and Su-25 attack aircraft were designed to engage ground targets. At the same time, the F-35 is not constrained in performing combat missions, being a "jack of all trades", and can carry out several missions, including an attack on land formations, combat aircraft and aerial reconnaissance - and in all weather conditions.
Going out on alert, the F-35 has the greatest stealth, which is not affected by flight speed. The fighter confidently identifies threats due to the possession of a special storage of information about the means of destruction of the enemy. If they are detected, the aircraft, thanks to the jet thrust, will easily escape from danger, if necessary, drowning out the radars of enemy aircraft with its electronic warfare system.
The F-35 has advanced methods for collecting and sharing information collected by aircraft surveillance systems. Multifunctional Enhanced Data Link (MADL) allows large amounts of information to be transferred securely. The information received by him can be used by other fighters of the link thanks to special communication systems. The Helmet Display System (HMDS) provides F-35 pilots with the most up-to-date information and provides "an unrivaled level of situational awareness."
The AN / ASQ-239 electronic warfare system installed on the F-35 makes it possible to identify, monitor, analyze and respond to threats on the ground and in the air, also providing a 360 ° view of the combat space.
While remaining invisible to the enemy, the F-35 can detect it "at amazing range," as they say in the Canadian press. If the F-15 with the APG-62 radar has 415 km with the APG-62 radar, the F-16 with the ABR - 280 km, the F-22 with the APG-77 - 500 km, then the F-35 with the AFAR radar has exceeds 500 km. In this case, the fighter can use passive surveillance equipment and receive information from other aircraft.
All of these advantages allow the F-35 to perfectly cope with the tasks assigned to them. At the end of 2020, it became the most efficient aircraft in the US Air Force: the mission completion rate (calculated based on the amount of time required to complete at least one combat mission) this year was 76.07%.
As indicated in the Canadian press, while many do not know that the F-35 is cheaper than most of its counterparts. In 2020, the price of a new production fighter was $ 87.1 million, and is expected to drop to $ 77.2 million in 2022.
Author: Evgeny Lyushilin
Photos used: US Department of Defense website
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