What's new

America's F-35 Has Some Problems, And Iran Has Taken Notice

mangekyo

SENIOR MEMBER
Joined
Jan 29, 2017
Messages
2,495
Reaction score
-4
Country
Iran, Islamic Republic Of
Location
Iran, Islamic Republic Of
America's F-35 Has Some Problems, And Iran Has Taken Notice
15745024567_e9ca3eca63_o%20%281%29.jpg


January 27, 2020 Topic: Security Region: Middle East Blog Brand: The Buzz Tags: F-35IranInvasion Of WarF-14Stealth
Could Iran shoot one down?

by David Axe Follow @daxe on TwitterL
Key Point: Stealth puts it at an advantage, but the F-35 has some weaknesses.


Amid escalating tensions between Iran and the United States, in part resulting from U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision unilaterally to withdraw the United States from the 2015 deal limiting Iran’s nuclear program, the U.S. armed forces have deployed a wide array of ships, planes and other weapons to the Middle East.

The American arsenal in the region includes F-35 stealth fighters. If tensions turn into warfare, the factory-fresh F-35s could face an Iranian air force operating some of the oldest active fighters in the world.

The Iranians with their four-decade-old F-4s, F-5s and F-14s might not seem to have a chance against the Americans flying arguably the world’s most advanced fighter aircraft. But history, and recent testing show how Iranian pilots flying old planes could defeat Americans flying brand-new ones.

For one, the F-35, while new, isn’t necessarily a stellar aerial performer. In 2015 someone associated with the F-35 test effort leaked an official report explaining the stealth fighter’s limitations in air-to-air maneuvers with an F-16.


“The F-35 was at a distinct energy disadvantage,” an unnamed F-35 test pilot wrote in a scathing five-page brief. “Insufficient pitch rate,” he added. “Energy deficit to the bandit would increase over time.”

The complaints continued. “The flying qualities in the blended region (20 to 26 degrees [angle of attack]) were not intuitive or favorable,” the pilot wrote, adding that there’s no point for an F-35 pilot to get into a sustained, close turning battle with an enemy pilot. “There were not compelling reasons to fight in this region.”


The pilot’s revelations underscore what many observers long have suspected about the F-35. While its radar-evading qualities and high-end sensors might allow it to gain a favorable position for long-range missile shots, in a close fight the F-35 hardly excels.

If an Iranian pilot can survive a merge with an F-35 and engage the stealth fighter in a turning dogfight, the Iranian might just bag himself a stealth fighter. It’s worth noting that the Iranian air force flies scores of fighters that excel precisely in that regime.

American-made F-5 Tigers, for instance. Former U.S. Navy pilot Francesco Chierici who flew F-5s in the adversary role, sang the plane’s praise in a 2019 article for The War Zone. “The Tiger was clean, just an AIM-9 and a telemetry pod on the wingtips, and occasionally a centerline fuel tank,” Chierici wrote. “She slipped through the ‘number’ (Mach 1) easily. … The F-5 was a pair of engines and wings. It was so simple …”

Aerodynamically, the F-5 will always be what we call a category-three fighter, where the F-35 and F-22 are now category-five fighters. Compared to modern jets, it is underpowered, slow and bleeds airspeed badly in a sustained turn, not to mention it has no stealth other than its tiny size.


But with just a few modifications, the F-5 is being turned into a threat plane with a legitimate sting. The newest upgrades include an [electronically-scanned] radar, good [radar-warning] gear, chaff and flares, a jamming pod and a helmet-mounted cueing system for a high off-boresight IR (infrared-guided) missiles.

A Tiger so outfitted can provide Super Hornets and F-35s a legitimate threat, especially in the training environment.


Iran indeed has been upgrading its F-5 fleet, although the modifications likely will not include the latest sensors and helmet sights.

Still, all things being equal the F-5 despite its age might still possesses the agility to gain the advantage over an F-35. Again, provided the F-5 pilot survives the merge to a close-in fight.

That’s a big assumption. F-35 pilots understand the limitations of their aircraft and certainly would do their best to avoid a dogfight. The Iranians might have to ambush the Americans in order to force the fight to close range. It’s unclear how the Iranians might do so, given the Americans’ huge advantage in sensors and situational awareness.

David Axe serves as Defense Editor of the National Interest. He is the author of the graphic novels War Fix, War Is Boring and Machete Squad.

This article was first published several months ago and is being republished due to reader interest
 
Last edited:
.
What BS, they did the same with Iraq, built them as a threat and then downsized them.
 
.
Wasn't this is the same David Axe that spell doom for F-35 plane since 2006?

I Remember I read a lot of article he wrote giving his short coming on F-35, and I don't actually think he have any specialist skill to compose those article in the first place.
 
. . .
yes , iran noticed it has same RCS as passenger plane


joke aside ...... air to air battle disadvantage of F35 ......
does iran really think there will be any air to air battle with US .....
 
.
yes , iran noticed it has same RCS as passenger plane


joke aside ...... air to air battle disadvantage of F35 ......
does iran really think there will be any air to air battle with US .....
Its an American article based on leaked information by an American pilot who flew the F35.
 
.
Propaganda article - cyberware 101. They want you to think low of F-35....
 
.
ah ha ha ha ha F4,F5 and F14 against F35, You will never see the thing that hit you!
 
.
America's F-35 Has Some Problems, And Iran Has Taken Notice
15745024567_e9ca3eca63_o%20%281%29.jpg


January 27, 2020 Topic: Security Region: Middle East Blog Brand: The Buzz Tags: F-35IranInvasion Of WarF-14Stealth
Could Iran shoot one down?

by David Axe Follow @daxe on TwitterL
Key Point: Stealth puts it at an advantage, but the F-35 has some weaknesses.


Amid escalating tensions between Iran and the United States, in part resulting from U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision unilaterally to withdraw the United States from the 2015 deal limiting Iran’s nuclear program, the U.S. armed forces have deployed a wide array of ships, planes and other weapons to the Middle East.

The American arsenal in the region includes F-35 stealth fighters. If tensions turn into warfare, the factory-fresh F-35s could face an Iranian air force operating some of the oldest active fighters in the world.

The Iranians with their four-decade-old F-4s, F-5s and F-14s might not seem to have a chance against the Americans flying arguably the world’s most advanced fighter aircraft. But history, and recent testing show how Iranian pilots flying old planes could defeat Americans flying brand-new ones.

For one, the F-35, while new, isn’t necessarily a stellar aerial performer. In 2015 someone associated with the F-35 test effort leaked an official report explaining the stealth fighter’s limitations in air-to-air maneuvers with an F-16.


“The F-35 was at a distinct energy disadvantage,” an unnamed F-35 test pilot wrote in a scathing five-page brief. “Insufficient pitch rate,” he added. “Energy deficit to the bandit would increase over time.”

The complaints continued. “The flying qualities in the blended region (20 to 26 degrees [angle of attack]) were not intuitive or favorable,” the pilot wrote, adding that there’s no point for an F-35 pilot to get into a sustained, close turning battle with an enemy pilot. “There were not compelling reasons to fight in this region.”


The pilot’s revelations underscore what many observers long have suspected about the F-35. While its radar-evading qualities and high-end sensors might allow it to gain a favorable position for long-range missile shots, in a close fight the F-35 hardly excels.

If an Iranian pilot can survive a merge with an F-35 and engage the stealth fighter in a turning dogfight, the Iranian might just bag himself a stealth fighter. It’s worth noting that the Iranian air force flies scores of fighters that excel precisely in that regime.

American-made F-5 Tigers, for instance. Former U.S. Navy pilot Francesco Chierici who flew F-5s in the adversary role, sang the plane’s praise in a 2019 article for The War Zone. “The Tiger was clean, just an AIM-9 and a telemetry pod on the wingtips, and occasionally a centerline fuel tank,” Chierici wrote. “She slipped through the ‘number’ (Mach 1) easily. … The F-5 was a pair of engines and wings. It was so simple …”

Aerodynamically, the F-5 will always be what we call a category-three fighter, where the F-35 and F-22 are now category-five fighters. Compared to modern jets, it is underpowered, slow and bleeds airspeed badly in a sustained turn, not to mention it has no stealth other than its tiny size.


But with just a few modifications, the F-5 is being turned into a threat plane with a legitimate sting. The newest upgrades include an [electronically-scanned] radar, good [radar-warning] gear, chaff and flares, a jamming pod and a helmet-mounted cueing system for a high off-boresight IR (infrared-guided) missiles.

A Tiger so outfitted can provide Super Hornets and F-35s a legitimate threat, especially in the training environment.


Iran indeed has been upgrading its F-5 fleet, although the modifications likely will not include the latest sensors and helmet sights.

Still, all things being equal the F-5 despite its age might still possesses the agility to gain the advantage over an F-35. Again, provided the F-5 pilot survives the merge to a close-in fight.

That’s a big assumption. F-35 pilots understand the limitations of their aircraft and certainly would do their best to avoid a dogfight. The Iranians might have to ambush the Americans in order to force the fight to close range. It’s unclear how the Iranians might do so, given the Americans’ huge advantage in sensors and situational awareness.

David Axe serves as Defense Editor of the National Interest. He is the author of the graphic novels War Fix, War Is Boring and Machete Squad.

This article was first published several months ago and is being republished due to reader interest

F-35 is like a smiper, it isn't meant to engage in close combat, there's nothing new about this.
 
.
Those dinosaur planes have no chance against a F35 or a F22.

Hate or love the Americans they make the best planes overall. Not even Russia can beat American made planes.
 
.
F-35 is like a smiper, it isn't meant to engage in close combat, there's nothing new about this.
Its a multirole fighter, supposed to be a jack of all trades. US is planning to replace F16 and F18 with F35. If what you say is true, why are they replacing F16 and F18 with a plane that cant engage in close combat?
 
.
Its a multirole fighter, supposed to be a jack of all trades. US is planning to replace F16 and F18 with F35. If what you say is true, why are they replacing F16 and F18 with a plane that cant engage in close combat?

Who said it's supposed to be the jack of all trade?

Its a multirole fighter, supposed to be a jack of all trades. US is planning to replace F16 and F18 with F35. If what you say is true, why are they replacing F16 and F18 with a plane that cant engage in close combat?

Yes, a multirole fighter, not an air superiority fighter.
 
.
Who said it's supposed to be the jack of all trade?

The F-35 Lightning II is a multirole aircraft, designed to do everything from reconnaissance to stealth to air combat.

The F-35 was designed to be an adaptive platform capable of replacing multiple aircraft types. Three variants of the F-35 will replace the A-10 and F-16 for the U.S. Air Force, the F/A-18 for the U.S. Navy, the F/A-18 and AV-8B Harrier for the U.S. Marine Corps, and a variety of fighters for at least ten other countries
https://www.f35.com/

Yes, a multirole fighter, not an air superiority fighter.


F16 was designed as an air superiority fighter but it is used as a multirole fighter. F15 is a pure as an air superiority fighter, US was planning to replace F15 with F22, but they ended the program to support F35 production.

F35 was designed to replace A-10, F15, F16, F22 and F18. It is only recently that USAF wanted to upgrade F15 instead of having F35 replace it. So you are saying a plane that was designed to replace air superiority planes is not meant to engage in close combat.
 
.
Those dinosaur planes have no chance against a F35 or a F22.

Hate or love the Americans they make the best planes overall. Not even Russia can beat American made planes.

indeed. And when their planes are not up to date they simply build a new one.

Just one example - during the Vietnam war when they found they don't have a good surveillance plane to guide air assaults , they built the OV 10 bronco.

one can say that their air force power is not just what they have in stock , but also the stuff they can build if the need arises.

~

the OV 10 bronco :

71YdDvt10QL._SL1009_.jpg
 
.

Latest posts

Pakistan Defence Latest Posts

Back
Top Bottom