China and Russia Can Detect F-35 Fighters Now

[rangerrebew]

China and Russia Can Detect F-35 Fighters Now
May 20, 2025
By: Brandon J. Weichert
 
What can be done about this problem? It’s unclear. But in order to solve a problem, one must first acknowledge it.
America’s air dominance is predicated upon being able to strike out at any target, at any time, from anywhere—all while being undetected. That last item—stealth capabilities—is the key component of U.S. airpower that keeps America’s adversaries up at night.

Since the 1980s, the Pentagon has increasingly relied upon its advanced, science fiction-esque stealth warplanes to maintain the edge over its foes. And since that time, Washington has been able to rest easy knowing that its stealth capabilities were sufficient to overwhelm its rivals.

But as Washington has rested on its laurels, America’s rivals have been catching up. China and Russia, in particular, are dedicated to overcoming this capability. And there have been many moments over the last 30 years of America’s seemingly endless brush wars throughout the Global South in which the U.S. Air Force’s stealth capabilities did not work as planned.

America’s First Stealth Plane Was Lost Over Serbia
The best example comes from America’s air war over Kosovo in 1999.

On the night of March 27, an F-117 Nighthawk stealth bomber was tasked with bombing Serbian targets as part of the NATO campaign to stop the Serbs from slaughtering the Kosovars. At the time, the F-117 was the most advanced stealth plane in the world; it was thought to be largely impervious to radar detection. But armed with Soviet-era weapons and much gumption, a particularly innovative Serbian surface-to-air missile (SAM) battery commander devised an ingenious way to identify and take down a supposedly impossible-to-hit American stealth plane.

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/china-and-russia-can-detect-f-35-fighters-now

[Hoodat]

Not to worry.  We still have other planes for specialty missions, right?  No one would be stupid enough to put all our eggs into one basket when it comes to fighter aircraft, right?

[rangerrebew]

Not to worry.  We still have other planes for specialty missions, right?  No one would be stupid enough to put all our eggs into one basket when it comes to fighter aircraft, right?

Wrong!  Biden would!

[MeganC]

What can be done about this problem?

Easy. Build more F-22 fighters since they don't have the problem the F-35 Flying Turd does.

[rangerrebew]

Easy. Build more F-22 fighters since they don't have the problem the F-35 Flying Turd does.

There is no reason to be so kind to the F-35.

[MeganC]

 

[BobfromWB]

The F-35 was caught not by some advanced radar, but by mobile SAMS which are hard to track, and neutralize, as they can pop up anywhere.

Russia's advanced radars cost in the billions and are only a few examples [ at least one Nebo-M was just destroyed in Ukraine ], and with the National Wealth Fund running dry plus oil sold running below budget projections, they are not likely to be able to build many more.

[BobfromWB]

Easy. Build more F-22 fighters since they don't have the problem the F-35 Flying Turd does.

All tooling, blueprints, etc are no longer in existence - think F-47 now.

It would cost a lot to try to acquire floor space, parts, equipment etc to start up a line to build new F-22s, than it would to build the F-47,

[Smokin Joe]

All tooling, blueprints, etc are no longer in existence - think F-47 now.

It would cost a lot to try to acquire floor space, parts, equipment etc to start up a line to build new F-22s, than it would to build the F-47,

If you have a viable front line aircraft, why destroy the tooling? I never understood that.

To me, this is evidence of shortsightedness on the part of command, not being ready to fight peer adversaries and replace inevitable losses.
The same thing is eating the Russians from within thinking they had the Ukrainians outclassed and instead watching their inventory brew up on the battlefield.

What kept us going wasn't the first B-17 or P-47, it was the fact that we made thousands of them.

[MeganC]

All tooling, blueprints, etc are no longer in existence - think F-47 now.

It would cost a lot to try to acquire floor space, parts, equipment etc to start up a line to build new F-22s, than it would to build the F-47,

Reverse engineer it then.

[BobfromWB]

If you have a viable front line aircraft, why destroy the tooling? I never understood that.

Its not command, but the cost of keeping & storing those items for the manufacturer for an indefinite time; plus they would have to train a whole new workforce to build it, in this case, for a plane that cannot be exported because of the Obey Amendment. Worse, they would have to set up a whole new supply chain of parts vendors which would cost who knows how much. Many of the parts are specialty parts and likely the tooling for those parts would have to be re-created, if that were even possible.

Far easier to start with a clean sheet and make a modern plane like the F-47.