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| US F-35 fighter jet shortage |
International Military - Quoted from Military Today, the United States F-35 fighter aircraft, also known as the Lightning II, is a new multi-role fighter. One of its variants, the F-35B achieved initial operational capability with the US Marine Corps in 2015.
The US F-35 was developed under the Joint Strike Fighter program, which is intended to replace existing aircraft types with regular fighters. In the near future the F-35 will replace the AV-8B, A-10, F-16 and F/A-18 fighters serving with the US military. Also exported to a number of countries.
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The F-35 has a similar configuration to Lockheed Martin's F-22 design, but is slightly smaller and has one engine instead of two. It exploits stealth technology, which reduces the radar cross-section and makes it more difficult to detect.
This multi-role fighter can perform air defense, close air support and tactical bombing missions. It is compatible with the latest air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles. The aircraft is proposed in three main variants, including the F-35A conventional takeoff and landing aircraft, the F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing aircraft, and the F-35C carrier-based aircraft.
These variants share a number of parts to keep development, production and service costs low. This aircraft uses the most powerful combat engine ever developed. The Israeli version of the F-35, the F-35I, is used against targets in Syria. These stealth fighters strike targets close to Russian military bases in Syria.
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Furthermore, Russia's most capable air defense systems, including the S-300 and S-400, cannot destroy the Israeli F-35. Quoted from 19fortyfive.com, dubbed the “quarterback of the sky”, the F-35 is a highly capable aircraft that has the ability to increase the effectiveness of other, older aircraft on the battlefield.
The F-35's stealth characteristics combined with its ability to rapidly gather, analyze, and disseminate information on tactical sights to any friendly aircraft in the vicinity make America's second stealth fighter a force multiplier.
While expensive and sure to look like it's getting worse, the F-35 is still the most advanced fighter jet in the world. For example, during the Blue Flag 21 joint exercise scenario with Israel, flights of four Greek F-16Cs protected several high-value targets when they were overtaken by about 20 “enemy” aircraft.
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The F-35As accompanying the F-16C use their sensors and technology to quickly understand the battlefield and guide older generation F-16Cs to incoming enemy jets. As a result, the Greek pilots "shot down" in mock battle 17 of the 19 "enemy" aircraft.
“For the F-16 to work on a fifth-generation platform, (the F-35) gives us the opportunity to work on sensor integration, making sure the planes can talk to each other, relay information, and then actually work on tactics for high-end combat if we have to. against a competitive adversary,” said US Air Force Colonel Kristoffer Smith, commander-in-chief of the 52nd Operations Group.
Another weakness of the stealth fighter jet pride of the United States and its allies is the F-35 is afraid of lightning. This is as quoted from the YouTube account Lycma Mil-Tech which uploaded a video on May 25, 2022. The American F-35 fighter jet is apparently afraid of lightning.
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"F-35 fighter aircraft are noted to have suffered damage when struck by lightning. Currently, F-35s are prohibited from flying during rainstorms. In fact, aircraft are prohibited from approaching lightning storm areas for 25 miles. When parked on the ground, especially during rain, the aircraft must be shielded. with a portable lightning delivery system.This is an irony.
The F-35 fighter has the nickname Lightning which means lightning. However, this plane is actually afraid of lightning," said Lycma Mil-Tech in the video. Like a gun, sir, the stealth capabilities embedded in the US F-35 fighter jet are thought to be the culprit behind America's most sophisticated aircraft being afraid of lightning. F-35 so very vulnerable to lightning?
The first problem, perhaps the lightning protection system on the F-35 is not as good as other fighter aircraft. This is because to maximize stealth capabilities, metal fibers as faraday cages may be reduced.
But this is just speculation. Because the details of the outer shell structure of the F-35 are classified. The second problem is that the current F-35 is known to have a flaw in the OBIGGS system.
OBIGGS or OnBoard Inert Gas Generating System is a system that functions to fill the empty space in the fuel tank with nitrogen gas. Thus, when the fuel is reduced due to consumption, the empty space is filled with nitrogen gas.
This is to prevent the empty space from containing oxygen. Fuel vapor mixed with oxygen, when there is a spark for example caused by a lightning strike, can cause a fire or explosion.
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Because the OBIGGS system on the F-35 is still having problems, before the problem is fixed, aircraft are prohibited from flying near lightning. Behind the superiority of the aircraft on the one hand, there are often other things that are sacrificed," said Lycma Mil-Tech in the video she uploaded.
Fortunately, Indonesia canceled the purchase, besides the high price, it is very impossible for the Republic of Indonesia to operate it in a tropical country that often rains suddenly.