April 7, 2019
The F-35 "Killed All the Targets": Why the Marines Think This Fighter Is a "Velociraptor"
But it might not all be so wonderful.
by Dave Majumdar
Even if the Pentagon can exercise the full capabilities of the new jet in simulations, there are questions as to how effective the F-35 will be against the latest Chinese air defenses.
The United States Marine Corps’ top aviation officer offered an upbeat assessment of the Lockheed Martin F-35B Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) to the House Armed Services Committee during his testimony on July 6. The stealthy new jump-jet is performing well during training exercises despite using an interim software configuration that affords the pricy aircraft only a fraction of the capabilities the Pentagon requires of it.
To illustrate his point, Lt. Gen. Jon Davis, the U.S. Marine Corps’ deputy commandant for aviation, described a training evolution at the service’s elite Weapons and Tactics Instructor course—which is run by Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One at Yuma, Arizona—where the F-35 was a participant. Where as normally half of a thirty aircraft strike package including Boeing AV-8B Harrier IIs, F/A-18Cs and EA-6B Prowlers would not make it through high-end air defenses, the new F-35s struck their targets with virtual impunity.
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/f-35-killed-all-targets-why-marines-think-fighter-velociraptor-51297
