Forget Stealth: F-35 ‘Beast Mode’ Breaks All The Rules
ByAlex BetleyPublishedJune 27, 2022
Yes, stealth is the present and future of the U.S. Air Force and overall U.S. military, and the F-35 is the spine of that future. And yet, the F-35 does have the capability to drop out of stealth mode and go into what can only be described as ‘Beast Mode’. The expert below explains what that means and why it matters for the future of warfare now and in the future: Though the F-35 Lightning II is perhaps most well-known for its combination of stealth and ability to run both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions, it is another feature of this fifth-generation fighter jet that is starting to gain substantial notoriety: its capacity to operate in “beast mode.”
Beast Mode: Explained
A far-from-technical term, “beast mode” is the ability for the F-35 to load up munitions on its external weapons pylons, boosting its total ordnance from 5,700 pounds to 22,000 pounds.
Such a payload would substantially increase the F-35’s radar signature, reducing or even eliminating its stealth capabilities. Yet that is not exactly the point.
https://www.19fortyfive.com/2022/06/forget-stealth-f-35-beast-mode-breaks-all-the-rules/
