Russia Responds to the Joint Strike Fighter Program
Mon, May 18, 2009
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Sweden_JAS 39 Gripen (Griffin)
Photo – aereo.jor.br
For anyone who’s into fighter jets, this article will be a treat as it compares the latest, greatest and costliest in aviation research and development. Presented here are Sweden’s Griffin, the EU’s Typhoon and two extraordinary fighters from Russia. One thing is sure: the Joint Strike Fighter Program (F-35) of the United States and several allied nations has competition. Buckle up for our supersonic tour.
Competition for the F-35
United States defense and public news media present the F-35 as a fighter in a class by itself without serious competition. The self promotion is obvious and inaccurate. There are several aircraft programs in other countries with similar capability and objectives. In some countries, budget limitations have restricted these programs to research and design studies, and the only aircraft flying are prototypes and demonstrators. For other nations, there is limited production with delivery to the home country’s air force and a few early customers in other nations. These programs are similar to the F-35 in terms of calendar for development to final design and production. Military aviation commentators and journalists outside the United States often attribute superiority to the latest Russian fighters over those made by the USA in air combat scenarios.
The United States is far ahead when looking at commitments to purchase F-35s, particularly with Italy’s intent to buy 131 F-35s, and Turkey planning to acquire 116 Joint Strike Fighters. The United States military aviation funding capacity is usually assumed to be limitless and subject only to the political and funding whims of the season. US Secretary of State Robert Gates has recently introduced a reality check into this aspect of next generation fighter development. Still, at the end of the day, American deep pockets for finance seem to be in a tier of their own that no other nation can match.
There are ‘dark horse’ candidates for F-35 competition in Sweden and the European Union that could challenge F-35 market dominance. Is it possible for Russia, and later China, to dramatically ramp up production of their 5th generation aircraft and thereby close the gap with the United States in the race for global military aviation dominance?
Sweden – Saab JAS 39 Gripen (Griffin)
Sweden JAS 39 Gripen – Firing Test Missile
Photo – aereo.jor.br
The Saab JAS 39 Gripen (‘Griffin’) is a 4.5 generation Swedish multi-role fighter that is capable of air-to-air, air-to-surface, and reconnaissance missions. The Gripen NG (Next Generation) now in development increases thrust by 20% and can cruise at Mach 1.1 with air-to-air missiles. Demonstration flights reached Mach 1.2 this January. All models can operate from 800-meter-runways and can use public roadways for takeoff and landing; the Gripen can be re-armed and refueled in ten minutes by five men operating from a truck.
Sweden JAS 39 Gripen – cockpit
Photo – aereo.jor.br
The human machine interface in the Gripen is extraordinary with three full colour, head down displays and digital emergency instrument presentation. These multifunction displays are unique to the Gripen and take up 75% of cockpit space. Export cost is in the range of $40 to $61 million, below that of the F-35 whose per aircraft costing is now over $83 million and rising. Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, India, Netherlands, Romania, Switzerland and Thailand are each considering purchases of the Gripen, for a total of at least 513 aircraft. Dutch cost estimates include a saving of $7.6 billion over the lifetime of a fleet of 85 Gripen when compared to a similar fleet of F-35s.
Euro EF2000 Typhoon
Euro EF2000 Typhoon
Photo – Simplify (user) at Project Reality Forums
Not wanting to leave the field to the Americans and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program without a ‘fight’, the European Union committed to a multi-role fighter designated the Eurofighter EF 2000 Typhoon in 1986. Eurofighter GmbH is a holding company that manages three separate partner companies that manufacture the EF 2000: Alenia Aeronautica, BAE Systems and EADS. The Typhoon is a twin-engine canard delta powered by twin EJ-200 augmented turbofans. It is designed to outperform the highest agility fighters such as the American F-117 and F-22; and the Russian MIG 29 and Su-27. Typhoon has a reduced radar cross-section but is not a considered a stealth aircraft in the usual sense.
Euro EF2000 Typhoon / Cockpit
Photo – ReaL-FrienD / Wikipedia
Typhoon’s glass cockpit does not have any of the conventional instruments and the pilot-plane interface capability is perhaps the most advanced in the world. There are three full, Multi-function Head Down Displays (MHDDs); XY cursor and voice (DVI) command; a wide angle, Heads Up Display (HUD) with Forward Looking Infra Red (FLIR); Voice & Hands On Throttle And Stick (Voice+HOTAS); Helmet Mounted Symbology System (HMSS); Multifunction Information Distribution System (MIDS); a Manual Data Entry Facility (MDEF) located on the left glare shield; a fully integrated aircraft warning system with a Dedicated Warnings Panel (DWP) and a speech recognition system as well.
The Eurofighter can reach Mach 2+ (2,495 km/h, 1550 mph) at 65,000’; Mach 1.2 at sea level and Mach 1.1 at supercruise (afterburners not used). Its range is 2,900 km (1,840 m) and the combat radius 556 km (345 mph) and rate of climb is >315 m/s (62,000 ft/min).
Combat contests and games show the Typhoon to be exceptional. At the Typhoon Meet held in 2008, the Euro EF2000 won all mock combat battles against F/A-18 Hornets, Mirage F1s, Harriers and F-16s even though it was heavily outnumbered. The typhoon achieves excellent agility at both supersonic and low speeds. “The Eurofighter consortium claims their fighter has a larger sustained subsonic turn rate, sustained supersonic turn rate, and faster acceleration at Mach 0.9 at 20,000 feet (6,100 m) than the F-15, F-16, F/A-18, Mirage 2000, Rafale, the Su-27, and the MiG-29”. (Source #3). It incorporates an advanced Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS), and a sophisticated and highly integrated Defensive Aids Sub-System.
Euro EF2000 (Spain) Typhoon / July 2007
Photo – All Glory To The Hypnotoad / Wikimedia
The Typhoon is more expensive than the American F-35. Cost per aircraft is about £69.3 million or ~$105 million. The cost of the complete program has continued to rise as delivery dates have fallen behind contracted schedules. Since 2003, the UK Minister of Defense has refused to release project cost estimates. The 2003 figure was £20 billion ($30.2 billion), which is far below the overall costing estimated for the Joint Strike Fighter Program whose production goals are an order of magnitude higher than that planned for the Typhoon. The absence of cutting edge air to ground battle capability (now in development) in the EF2000 has led some countries to look elsewhere for their next generation fighter upgrade.
The Typhoon had its first flight March 27, 1994; the first production contract for 620 aircraft was signed January 30, 1998 but commercial production did not begin until 2003. As of May 2008, 146 Typhoons had been delivered to the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain. Austria has purchased a system package for EUR 1.969 billion that includes 9 years finance, logistics, training and simulator for 18 aircraft. Other countries with serious interest in the Typhoon are Greece, Japan and Saudi Arabia. The latter committed to purchasing 72 Typhoons in 2006, with 48 to be built in Saudi Arabia. As of late October 2008, the test program for the Royal Saudi Air Force began with one Typhoon in RSAF livery. The first UK RAF Typhoons were declared battle ready on 1 July 2008.
The Russians are Coming / MIG-35B
When listing aircraft that might be comparable to the F-35, we do not often see a Russian fighter mentioned. But wherever advanced Russian fighters are deployed, countries in the region look very closely at those aircraft when making decisions about upgrading their air forces to the F-35 or next generation fighters.
Sukhoi Su-35BM
Photo – daneshju.ir
The Sukhoi Su-35 (Flanker-E) is a 4.5 generation long-range, multirole, strike fighter. It closely resembles a specialized version of the Su-30. It is derived from the Su-27 program in the early 1980s wherein a Su-27M prototype first flew in 1988. Aircraft designation was changed to Su-35 in 1993 after comprehensive changes had been made. 15 Su-35 (Su-27M) aircraft have been produced, of which five Su-35s (‘Super Flanker’) have been used by the Russian Knights display team. Sukhoi began developing a 4.5 generation upgrade to the Su-35 in the mid 2000s, which is an interim design until the 5th generation PAK FA (T-50) can complete test flights and enter production. The most recent aircraft in the Su-35 family is the Sukhoi Su-35BM, alias Su-27BM or Su-27SM2. The first upgraded Su-35BM came out of the ‘black’ and into the ‘white’ at the MAKS-2007 airshow, and it flew on February 19, 2008. (“BM’ translates as ‘big modernization.’). Production is scheduled to begin in 2009.
Su-35BM has increased service life and further reductions in radar cross section. Canards were eliminated from the design because new composites and electronics further reduced aircraft weight. Fully rotating, vector thrust nozzles power Saturn engines to provide maximum maneuverability.
The Su-35BM is in prototype stage – only two have been built so far and the first flight was on February 19, 2008. Radar cross-section has been reduced and avionics are now entirely Russian. Its maximum speed is Mach 2.25 (2,400 km/h, 1,500 mph) at 18,000 m (59,100 ft), range is 3,600 km (1,940 nmi) and rate of climb is >280 m/s (>55,100 ft/min). The aircraft cost is estimated at $65 million.
MIG-35B Cockpit
Photo – daneshju.ir
A small number of Su-35s are in service with the Russian Air Force with 12 deployed as of 2008. As of July 2008, the Venezuelan government has expressed interest in buying several Su-35s, and the aircraft has been offered to India, Malaysia and Algeria.
Russia – Su-47
Su-47 / test flight
Photo – airvoila
While not intended to be developed into a battle-ready, fully functional military fighter, the Su-47 (also designated S-35 and S-37) incorporates several original and potentially important features that bear close watching. Much of what is learned from the test flights of the Su-47 will be incorporated into Russia’s production of new fifth-generation aircraft. The Su-47 Berkut (Golden Eagle) transitioned to ‘white’ status in January 2000. One aircraft has been built at a cost estimate of Russian rubles 1.67 billion ($70 million).
Innovative features of the Su-47 include: an aluminum / titanium fuselage whose components are 13% state-of-the-art composite materials and sophisticated fly-by-wire control. Forward swept and inverted wings allow for exceptional maneuverability and attack angles up to 45°. The quick turn ability of the Su-47 may have no equal. Lower minimum flight speed allows for use of short runways. Thrust vector engines of +/– 20 to 30 degrees/second further enhance the maneuverability capacity that derives from the high angle inverted wings. Its maximum speed is Mach 2.34 (2,500 km/h, 1,552 mph), range is 3,300 km (2,050 mi), ceiling is 18,000 m (59,050 ft) and rate of climb is 233 m/s (46,200 ft/min).
Su-47 (S-37) / schematic
Photo – airvoila
The first article in this series (I) discusses the history of the F-35 Lightening II Program. Profile, performance standards and current status of test flight demonstrators and production aircraft are described. The third and final article (III) in this short series will look at the international partners working with the United States on the Joint Strike Fighter Program, and the problems that have emerged with F-35 design and performance.
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“The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else.”
May 18th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
Grossly expensive vanity projects designed for wars that might have been fought 20 years ago. Now their only purpose is the enrichment of military contractors.
May 19th, 2009 at 4:50 am
MIG– 35B /Mikoyan MIG-35 ‘Fulcrum F’
……
Sukhoi Su-35 (Flanker-E)
Are they the same? Confused of Wandsworth :)
May 19th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
Agree with Mack. Air-to-air combat is dead.
May 20th, 2009 at 7:54 pm
Nico – thanks for the question. During final editing, the photo you asked about acquired a mistaken identity that is now corrected. Yes, the MIG– 35B /Mikoyan MIG-35 ‘Fulcrum F’ and Sukhoi Su-35 (Flanker-E) are not the same aircraft.
May 21st, 2009 at 8:50 am
For Bob, Mack and many others who believe air combat is dead. Without a thought to Russia/USA or Russia/China, consider India/Pakistan, Israel/Iran, and China(PRC)/ Taiwan. Only Israel vrs Iran is a one sided mash-up among these three potential conflicts. The world witnessed a very brief spat of one sided air combat activity in the recent Russian-Georgian War. I deeply wish that air combat was forever dead, but I fear not.
June 6th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
Russians steal, beg, barrow, and rip off everything from the west. They did not even have toilet during WW2. And they continued to rape Eastern Europe 50 years after ww2. Mr Stalin killed 50 million of his own people before, during and after the war and the Russian people allowed this. The west supplied the Russians with all their equipment and food and never paid back a single penny. We should have followed General Pattons advice and finished the off while we had our equipment over there. ROT IN HELL PUTIN, WITH YOUR BUDDY HITLER!
I dare you to publish this Russian scoundrel
June 9th, 2009 at 9:43 am
I assume that this project is not initated or ignited by Russia, but the west always make its way of competition, this is a greedy and deadly game. Human has sin, and they must pay back.Again, there is nothing wrong should Russia develop this type of project. The west damply dictates the world order that is just for their gread, not for peace. Almost of wars in current are masterminded by the west, even they do not kill their own people, but they do kill other human beings, and they say they do not care, because they are not their own people. Do not cry for peace, prosperity or fairness, the west scares of their sinful behavior.
June 10th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Unmanned drones are the future. They are cheaper, have higher G-limits, and lower legacy costs from servicemembers and their families.
Arms sales are booming. With weapons proliferation, global warming, overpopulation, mass migrations, and resource depletion (especially potable water and oil), the 21st century will see many small and large-scale conflicts, requiring cheaper, expendable weapons.
June 11th, 2009 at 11:55 pm
These are seriously cool pictures.
I just found one of a Global Hawk Block 20. I used it as a picture for a story that I just wrote about a company that develops and provides the U.S. Armed Forces, the space program, and others with lithium ion batteries.
The story that I wrote as it relates to the company, Yardney Technical Products, relates to a partnership that they are doing with another new company, Coda Automotive, to open a Connecticut factory to build automotive lithium ion batteries for electric cars. It should provide Americans with about 600 new jobs, according to the company. The full story is at: http://www.greenvitals.net/greenvitalsnet/2009/6/11/new-lithium-ion-battery-facility-to-bring-hundreds-of-jobs-t.html
June 21st, 2009 at 9:32 pm
Russia is number 1!
June 23rd, 2009 at 1:34 pm
The USAF has conducted an analysis of the F-35’s air-to-air performance against all 4th generation fighter aircraft currently available, and has found the F-35 to be at least four times more effective. Maj Gen Charles R. Davis, USAF, the F-35 program executive officer, has stated that the “F-35 enjoys a significant Combat Loss Exchange Ratio advantage over the current and future air-to-air threats, to include Sukhois”.[44] The Russian, Indian, Chinese, and
——–
other air forces operate Sukhoi Su-27/30 fighters.
In addition, the F-35 will have at least four times better strike and dogfight features than the Sukhois, through the helmet mounted cueing system, IR sensors and improved data processors.[45] Stealh give the F-35 complete invisibility at all altitudes, and top speeds in access of Mach 7 make the Sukhoi look like garbage flies, in comparison.
June 29th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
It’s bad to underestimate Russians.
You know what happened to Hitler, …and after that.
June 30th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
The “stealth”, the sensors, the data links and all those gizmos is what makes the f-35 stand out. The Russian fighters are modernized SU-27, there is always this glorification of Russian military tech…Clinton had to give them super-computers so they wouldnt resume nuclear underground testing, how do you expect Russia to create cutting edge weapons in this “microchip era”?!…and there is no such thing as “4.5 Generation”.
…the Eurofighter and the Saab are the new F-104 Starfighter, they are trapped between 2 eras…they are glorious failures, their sales are the proof.
July 1st, 2009 at 1:18 am
To Uncle Sam(e):
Wow. The USAF claims their plane that they designed is better than everyone else’s plane. Shocking. I’m *really* surprised they didn’t come out say “We spent billions of taxpayer dollars in no-bid contracts developing a plane which will be obsolete faster than the newest iPhone”.
It’s the weapons no one is talking about that are the most effective. Two examples would be the SSN29 Sunburn cruise missile and Russian EMP technologies which render everything but rifle/pistol cartridges completely useless (Yes, that includes ’shielded’ equipment within a range).
Perhaps if the West built something that the rest of the world actually wanted to buy (GM, anyone?) other than weapons, you wouldn’t owe more than 10X your GDP and be Trillions of dollars in debt that China, Russia and others will refuse to buy come this August. The rest of the world has effectively financed its own enslavement.
Enjoy your ‘American Idol’ while you can still afford the cable in your home on which you owe more than it is worth.
July 6th, 2009 at 8:24 am
The so-called Dr. John [?,[so he calls himself] has used an old trick, his “I dare you to publish this” is what he always says, to ensure is anti-Russian in this case, is posted. His post has nothing to do with 5th Gen.fighters YOU have an obligation to tell him in pint. YOU posted his anti-Russian disgusting rants that can only be described as the rants of a “mad man.” You lost all objectivity and credibility by YOUR inaction and posting his vile rants that were “unrelated” to an otherwise well done article. Don’t you have any posting rules? Or,is it that you agree with the so-called Dr.John[?] comments?
July 7th, 2009 at 9:11 am
To sj -
For the record, I did not personally review and then publish Dr. John’s comments. That is not done by anyone at Environmental Graffiti, neither the Managing Editor nor staff writers like myself. As you did, anyone can contribute a comment using the online interface, and it appears immediately below the article w/o prior review.
As to Dr. John’s comments, I completely agree with you, they are vile and stupid. Perhaps the best punishment is leave his words online, and thereby ‘Dr. John’ is embarrassed hourly before an international audience. At this time, there are no posting ‘rules’ at EG but that my change later this year as a new ‘dramatic’ interface is brought online. Thanks for the kind words about the article.
July 7th, 2009 at 11:35 am
sj, who says that Russia is not a democracy? to all madmen or generally unhappy people get their voice heard
July 7th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
Where do all the really narrow idoits who subscribe to this come from.
To read there comments it sounds like the USA.
That really worries me. How many are there like that in the USA.
Like Dr.John.
Who steals? – the USA would never steal ideas.
Strange – was it 27-28 visits in 24 months to Russia the ex. USA Submariner- now working for a USA Torpedo Company made to Russia in about 2000. He would nevr be trying to steal or buy or bribe to get the secrets to there unmatched Torpedo that can do 500km per hour. [Sorry if you come from the USA - That is about 300mph just in case you can't work that out.]
Intersting – you say the USA gave the Russians all there arms in WW2. I wonder why they bothered then to build about 1200-1300 tanks PER/ MONTH by the end of the War- probably the best all round tank of WW2 with all that superb gear they were getting from the USA. I also wonder why they built all those Yak9’s etc. by the thousands [I can't remember but it was brobably 10's of thousands]. I suppose that was a copy also. Why did they do this if they had all that USA gear.Strange how in the first part of Korea the Mig15 belted shit our of the all the other Airforces there to start with. I imagine they stole all that also from the USA. Yes they admit they modelled there engines on the British nein engine. At least they admit it.
Pull you head out of your arse – why do all the Historians and real Experts credit the USSR with winning about 75% of WW2 in Europe.
Just how good were the Allies in WW2 in Europe. From what I read at the time of the D-day landing the Russians had about 86% of Axis forcs tied up on the Western Front. I suppose Dr John will claim that taking on those 14% or 15% won the War. Idiot – WW2 proves it is a very brave nation that would ever think of taking on the Russians. The seem to know how to fight anytime somebody tries to touch Russia. Stallin could not make them do that. You can’t make people fight like that with the will to win which they did. Stop reading all your USA propaganda.
July 7th, 2009 at 10:53 pm
The author of this article needs a reality check, look at the specs of the JSF and compare them, that will give you a clue. The JSF is ALOT more leathal than a F15E which by the way has NO combat losses (look it up). The JSF makes the F117 look like a flying bus in terms of RCS, the PAKFA has been cancelled, and no mig or sukhoi in active service has the stealth characteristics of the JSF. Dogfighting is a thing of the past if your enemy is out of the sky before he realizes it. Take all of the advantages the F35 has and compare them, you will see that the F35 has very little competition, maybe in 15 years, but not now, is it invincible? No but, you dont want to go against it. Now the f22, has absolutly NO competition, PERIOD.
July 8th, 2009 at 2:00 am
…and the f-22 is superior to any of these aircraft in air-to-air situations, why is it not mentioned at all?
July 11th, 2009 at 5:44 am
why havnt we seen anyone esles combat aircraft in the last few wars??they were with the us where the *& where there killer planes i keep haring about?
July 13th, 2009 at 7:48 am
In reply to several comments -
The F-22 was not discussed because it is outside the subject boundary of the article which surveyed closely comparable aircraft from countries other than the USA. Yes, the F-22 is a truly exceptional, jet fighter.
The F-35 however, has a long way to go. Specifications on paper are one thing, completing the mission with excellence in a real world, combat theater is another. When an F-35A flew from Fort Worth, Texas, to Edwards Air Force Base, California on October 1, 2008, that was the aircraft’s first long distance flight. Since the AA-1 prototype completed its first fight in December 2006, 100 test fights have been completed by three aircraft over two and one half years. Ten F-35A prototypes are planned to join the test fleet by the end of 2010. In 2011, the test fleet is expected to average 144 flight hours and 12 sorties per month. Through September 2013, 5,000 sortie test flights are planned. When this program is completed, the USAF will have a much better assessment of the mission and potential combat capability of the F-35, and the validity of the many criticisms that have been made of the program.
See – http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/06/17/328376/paris-air-show-f-35-officials-define-sortie-rates-for-flight.html
July 15th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
The F-35 is not the Lightening II. That is the F-22.
And uncle Sam, the F-35 will not go Mach 7, nor will any current or future fighter aircraft. Mach 7 would only be achievable at very high altitudes, ala the SR-71 which was still only Mach3+
July 19th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
The main disadvantage of the JSF is it’s partly stealth shape. It works fine against classic radar in a a-symetrical theather.
But in a modern symetrical theater it’s more a handycap for performance and weapons capability than an advantage.
In a much more advanced plane like the F-22 or B-2 it’s a good thing. But not for a little bit of everything compromise like the JSF.
July 26th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
Look at where from the whole lifting system of the F-35′ is developed..??? it is developed from RUssian Yak -141 PLEASE GOOGLE THAT.. it inherits soviet technology of late 80′ they asked russians to continue tests, and later bought the results and drawings. Americans did not create F-35 from a scratch.. russians helped them GOOGLE THAT..!
July 28th, 2009 at 1:07 am
I am a big plane nut and I’m always happy to find information on the subject. With that said, I think there are some things that are overlooked here.
For the most part, a fighter aircraft is as effective as its electronics. The ability to detect the enemy first, and engage without having to maneuver is much more effective than actually engaging in a dogfight. Yes speed an maneuverability are good, but it’s the plane that is able to engage first that has the upper hand. With this in mind, the effectiveness of an aircraft could reasonably be tied the the quality of airborne radar. (Military aircraft rarely use their on board active radar as it will give away your position long before it will detect an enemy) I have very little knowledge on this subject, so I have no input here, just something to ponder.
The inclusion of generation 4.5 fighters is also a moot point, due partly to the aforementioned technologies. I offer this example: If the F-15 was the premier fighter of the 4th generation, then why would the F-35 be built if it were to be inferior to an updated F-15? And if it is inferior, then it can probably be safely assumed that the F-15 will stay in service as a strictly air defense fighter, making the potential meeting of these two unlikely.
In summation, this article is the equivalent of evaluating a football player based on how fast they are and how high they can jump while ignoring their skill level and game-IQ.
On a side note, you state that the Typhoon fighter is designed to outmaneuver the likes of the F117. . . The F117 is a attack bomber that was never designed for air combat. Is this a typo?
August 10th, 2009 at 10:44 am
How come the title focuses on Russia’s response? Aren’t all military aircraft manufacturing countries responding to the F-35? The author sure does spend a lot of time on “other’s” responses.
This article also seems very one-sided, mainly because the author does not offer any F-35 specs for review, except for costs, of course. How about mentioning how fast the F-35 will go? How about mentioning that there will be three different versions? Something’s missing
After a second re-read of the article, I’m convinced that this is an article meant to bash the US program, for whatever reason.
August 15th, 2009 at 8:45 am
Hey Hammid B -
Note that this article is one of a three part series. The three versions of the F-35 are described… and more. See:
http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/business/f-35-one-trillion-dollar-fighter-program/10967
and -
http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/business/the-future-of-asymmetric-warfare/11055
Yes, the F-35 is viewed through a critical lens..
August 15th, 2009 at 9:23 am
To Blink -
Comments noted, thank you. Yes, the F-117 should not have been referred to as a ‘fighter’. F-117A is the complete Nighthawk designation and it is a ground to air attack aircraft. Perhaps the stories that the ‘F’ designation was retained so as to attract the best fighter pilots to fly the Nighthawk are true.
The Eurofighter Typhoon as a multi-role, multi-mission competitor to the F-35 does have significant ground to air attack capability with laser guided munitions.
August 30th, 2009 at 1:45 am
The F-35 is simply the best Joint Strike Fighter in the world. This is a fact, not opinion. One big arguement here is comparing the F-35 to other planes. But it wasn’t designed for that. It was designed to take out ground targets and fight air to air when needed. The F-35 outsmarts the Russian S-300 surface to air system. Now the russians have the S-400 system deployed around moscow,key industrial regions in central russia and the northern border with n.korea. Russia was so broke it was forced to borrow money from china to fund the s-400 project. Back to the F-35. the s-400 may or may not be able to take them out, but the F-35 is designed for quick upgrades to outpace air defence networks and thats what the F-35 is all about.
August 31st, 2009 at 11:18 am
The F-35 is simply the best Joint Strike Fighter in the world. This is a fact, not opinion. One big arguement here is comparing the F-35 to other planes. But it wasn’t designed for that. It was designed to take out ground targets and fight air to air when needed. The F-35 outsmarts the Russian S-300 surface to air system. Now the russians have the S-400 system deployed around moscow,key industrial regions in central russia and the northern border with n.korea. Russia was so broke it was forced to borrow money from china to fund the s-400 project. Back to the F-35. the s-400 may or may not be able to take them out, but the F-35 is designed for quick upgrades to outpace air defence networks and thats what the F-35 is all about. :D Good article
September 2nd, 2009 at 7:36 pm
Why does this world have to sit around table and talk about peace?
They are always making new weapons for war which are more destructive than the ones before!
Why this contradiction?
What are the world leaders thinking? :(
September 3rd, 2009 at 6:28 am
Robert Gates is the Secretary of Defense, not the Secretary of State. That would be Hillary Clinton.
September 3rd, 2009 at 11:59 am
Blink, 28th July 2009 refers to footballers having an IQ. That’s news to me!
One other thing I should mention. Australia has a different Government in power at present but they still had to bow to their Yank masters when chosing a replacement fighter aircraft for the aging F-18’s. You’d never guess what it is? Yes, the over priced over rated F-35, delivery due in about 2100AD or so, but we will not receive the latest weaponry because the Yanks think it’s a big secret.
Funny that the Russian Sukhoi and Migs already have superior air radar systems in their aircraft, not ground based only, which means they can detect any stealth aircraft long before the Yanks know where their Su’s are. As for weaponry, Russian sales of Su aircraft with brilliant weapons are happening every day and if you had a choice of one (1) F-35 or five (5) Su-37’s for the same overall price, which ones would you take?
September 3rd, 2009 at 8:50 pm
i think dr. john is being a bit dramatic, after all the russians did make it to outer space before anyone else, but space travel has fallen by the wayside now that military prowess is the most important thing.
leblogdegleopatra.blogspot.com
September 3rd, 2009 at 8:55 pm
well im not sure why my comment didnt work the first time, but I think dr. john is being a bit dramatic, after all russians were the first in outer space. of course that doesnt matter now that space exploration has fallen by the wayside and military prowess is all that seems to matter.
September 10th, 2009 at 6:37 am
I agree with Chandler –
Air-to-air combat is a thing of the past.
Regardless, and although these foreign designs are impressive, what people seem to forget is that an aircraft is only as good as it’s pilot.
The United States spends more money and time on training a pilot than other countries do, and that makes a huge difference in the air, even if you’re flying a $83 million dollar jet.
Look at Soviet aircraft designs in World War 2 – the Yak-9 and the La-7 – both were superior to the latest 109 and 190 models, yet they still got slaughtered – because German pilots had better training and experience.
Bottom line, you put an exceptional pilot in an Su-27, and a crappy one in an F-35, well, you see where I’m going with this…
I’m not worried about what the Europeans have – the United States has better pilots, and the experience our pilots gain from Iraq and afghanistan is invaluable.
No Chinese or Soviet pilot can match the experience and quality of U.S. pilots.
September 17th, 2009 at 7:24 am
@Andrew
That doesn’t explain why Indian pilots flying Russian fighters keep spanking US pilots in joint war games (two years in a row). The US might spend more on training, but US pilots don’t have the skills apparently. The Indian airforce’s training seems to be better, the Russian planes are conclusively much better at dog fighting, but I agree with the previous poster, it’s all meaningless with long range radar and stand-off weapons.
September 19th, 2009 at 6:14 am
A2A combat , and WVR engagement will never become a thing of the past. It will only become more important in coming days.
September 19th, 2009 at 6:17 am
Also, technology is no replacement for good fighter pilot and training.
September 24th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Actually most Russian military equipment is designed to be user friendly and easy
for conscipts to learn to use quickly i.e. The kalishnikov rifle – it is told that the designer took the prototypes down to the firing range with a bunch of conscripts and crates of beer where he found out the rifle sight was being used by the conscripts to lever off the beer bottle tops. Nothing said but the production model now has a bottle opener on the stock as standard. This sort of pragmatism also applies to Russian tanks and aircraft. So perhaps all that training that the US pilots go thru probably reflects the complexity of the aircraft and the inputs of various competing services and avionics influencing the tasks required to fly the F35. Which is probably why the Indian pilots consistently overwhelm the US pilots in their regular war games. A ratio of 5xSU37’s for 1xF35 5:1 on a cost basis suggests that 5 aircraft requiring less training and time to fly against one F35 with outstanding training amounts to asymmetrical pragmatism.
September 24th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
I think that the article and most of the comments are missing the point. The JSF is an excellent multi-role aircraft. There may be other aircraft that excel in one of its many missions, but taken as a whole, you can replace much of a disparate fleet of aircraft with a smaller number of F-35s. The US approach is to have a common airframe capable of substantially fulfilling most of these roles. The glaring exception (until Obama killed it) is the F-22 Raptor. This is currently the ULTIMATE A2A combat vehicle. Hands down. No questions asked. Next. The USAF will still have these, and will limit their roles as necessary to maintain air superiority. Note that these are not requires in all theaters, as air superiority does not factor into the current state of asymmetric warfare.
September 28th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
The F35 is not a fighter airplane…its a spaceship! The yet to be put in production and service F35 needs treatment like a princess and service after every flight. It will ruin smaller states budget, like Norways, because noone really can say the how much the F35 will cost during its lifetime. Norway was led behind the lights with a happy calylationins. The F35 is to expensive and it will break if used under field conditions. The russian aircrafts are rugged and their engines can take some shit from the runway. They even have upper airintakes for taking of from dirty runways! The russians build fighters for war, the USA for show off.
October 17th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
SU 27s smoke out F-22s, New US Fighter Jets [F-35] Clubbed Like Baby Seals’ By Russian Sukhois
I’m not into argument with anybody without facts and figure.But this is what I found in the http://rupeenews.com/2008/10/04/su-27s-smoke-out-f-35s-and-f-22-in-real-taiwan-wargame/ regarding F 35 AND F22. Just a few transcript from the articles
“There is much controversy brewing about the lack of performance of the F-35s. The Australians and others are raving mad. Now there is news that the F-22s were unable to defend their tankers which keep them afloat in the sky. The F-22 lifeline is critical to the survival of the F-22s.The F-35s are a total fiasco. Almost all European and Anzus countries are reevaluating their orders and many are talking about the plane being similar to the failed F-111.
As for the highly complex electronics to attack targets in the air, the F-35, like the F-22 before it, has mortgaged its success on a hypothetical vision of ultra-long range, radar-based air-to-air combat that has fallen on its face many times in real air war. The F-35’s air-to-ground electronics promise little more than slicker command and control for the use of existing munitions.
The immediate questions for the F-35 are: how much more will it cost and how many additional problems will compromise its already mediocre performance? We will only know when a complete and rigorous test schedule –not currently planned – is finished. The F-35 is a bad deal that shows every sign of turning into a disaster as big as the F-111 fiasco of the 1960s. (Janes Defense Weekly–Full report below)
Trust me guys this F 35 very soon will dump at 3rd world country market.It’s a failure sign…lol