Sci/Tech Final F-35 Kill Ratios at Red Flag 17-1 (and USMC Exercises)
- Thread starter Zeph
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That criticism is just that it's a one engine plane rather than two engine, because they say that it will crash if one fails. Yet the single engine f16 has a better reliability rate, after they worked out the early kinks, than the f18-a, and the new engine for the f35 is extremely reliable.
The US are planning to use solely F35 for arctic defence themselves, which wouldn't make any sense if the plane was not capable there, which it is. Norway are buying F35s as well.
For those that don't want to watch the video
F-35 Dominates the Air at This Year's Red Flag War Games
Exercise Red Flag at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada is considered one of the most realistic and challenging aviation warfare exercises, and pilots from this year's event say the Air Force's F-35A exceeded expectations by dominating the air space and improving the lethality of other legacy aircraft. It's stellar performance is a major victory for a war plane that's been criticized for its high costs and plagued with several development setbacks.
Running from January 23 to February 10, this year's Red Flag involves more threats to pilots than ever before, including surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), radar jamming equipment, and an increased number of red air, or mock enemy aircraft. Against the ramped-up threats, the F-35A only lost one aircraft for every 15 aggressors killed, according to Aviation Week.
The F-35 Lightning II's advanced avionics software was the star of the show, as multiple F-35s successfully compiled data into a detailed layout of the battlefield with each individual threat pinpointed. The stealthy aircraft could then slip into weak spots in the defensive layout and take out SAM targets, opening up the space for follow-on forces of legacy fighters. Even when the F-35s ran out of munitions, F-22 and fourth-generation fighter pilots wanted the aircraft to remain in the combat zone, soaking up data and porting target info to the older fighters.
"Before where we would have one advanced threat and we would put everything we had—F-16s, F-15s, F-18s, missiles—we would shoot everything we had at that one threat just to take it out," Lt. Col. George Watkins, 34th Fighter Squadron commander, told Aviation Week. "Now we are seeing three or four of those threats at a time."
The F-35 and the F-22 Raptor pair up to make a particularly deadly team, according to the pilots. The Raptor uses its advanced air maneuverability to shield the F-35 from airborne threats while the F-35 relays data to the F-22 to paint a clear picture of the battlefield. Once the duo of fifth-generation fighters take out an initial wave of ground and air targets, F-18s, F-16s, and F-15s bring up the rear to provide support, all receiving target data from the F-35s in the field.
"When you pair the F-22 and the F-35 together with the fourth-generation strikers behind us, we're really able to dominate the air space over the Nellis test and training range," Watkins told Aviation Week.
How the F-35 Got to Be Such a Mess
Particularly encouraging was the smooth operation of the F-35's 3i software, a system that has crashed in the past, forcing pilots to reboot in midair, and the program has struggled with duplicate and repeating target info. None of the F-35s at Red Flag had any troubles running the advanced avionics software.
The F-35A is currently in Initial Operational Capability (IOC) and is slated to reach Full Operational Capability (FOC) with Block 3F sometime next year.
F-35 Dominates the Air at This Year's Red Flag War Games
Exercise Red Flag at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada is considered one of the most realistic and challenging aviation warfare exercises, and pilots from this year's event say the Air Force's F-35A exceeded expectations by dominating the air space and improving the lethality of other legacy aircraft. It's stellar performance is a major victory for a war plane that's been criticized for its high costs and plagued with several development setbacks.
Running from January 23 to February 10, this year's Red Flag involves more threats to pilots than ever before, including surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), radar jamming equipment, and an increased number of red air, or mock enemy aircraft. Against the ramped-up threats, the F-35A only lost one aircraft for every 15 aggressors killed, according to Aviation Week.
The F-35 Lightning II's advanced avionics software was the star of the show, as multiple F-35s successfully compiled data into a detailed layout of the battlefield with each individual threat pinpointed. The stealthy aircraft could then slip into weak spots in the defensive layout and take out SAM targets, opening up the space for follow-on forces of legacy fighters. Even when the F-35s ran out of munitions, F-22 and fourth-generation fighter pilots wanted the aircraft to remain in the combat zone, soaking up data and porting target info to the older fighters.
"Before where we would have one advanced threat and we would put everything we had—F-16s, F-15s, F-18s, missiles—we would shoot everything we had at that one threat just to take it out," Lt. Col. George Watkins, 34th Fighter Squadron commander, told Aviation Week. "Now we are seeing three or four of those threats at a time."
The F-35 and the F-22 Raptor pair up to make a particularly deadly team, according to the pilots. The Raptor uses its advanced air maneuverability to shield the F-35 from airborne threats while the F-35 relays data to the F-22 to paint a clear picture of the battlefield. Once the duo of fifth-generation fighters take out an initial wave of ground and air targets, F-18s, F-16s, and F-15s bring up the rear to provide support, all receiving target data from the F-35s in the field.
"When you pair the F-22 and the F-35 together with the fourth-generation strikers behind us, we're really able to dominate the air space over the Nellis test and training range," Watkins told Aviation Week.
How the F-35 Got to Be Such a Mess
Particularly encouraging was the smooth operation of the F-35's 3i software, a system that has crashed in the past, forcing pilots to reboot in midair, and the program has struggled with duplicate and repeating target info. None of the F-35s at Red Flag had any troubles running the advanced avionics software.
The F-35A is currently in Initial Operational Capability (IOC) and is slated to reach Full Operational Capability (FOC) with Block 3F sometime next year.
Glad its improving. Curious to see a cost-benefit ratio.
I don't doubt that insane amounts of cash can make a good plane.
But is the plane twice as much for 10% benefit? I don't know enough so just have to follow the news.
One of America's Top Allies Has Lots to Say About the F-35
A Dime a Day Drives Cost Away | F-35 Lightning II
Trump says Abe expressed thanks for F-35 jet cost reduction
General trend of outcome and cost improvement?
A Dime a Day Drives Cost Away | F-35 Lightning II
Trump says Abe expressed thanks for F-35 jet cost reduction
General trend of outcome and cost improvement?
f35 cost is down below $100mil fly away, projected to drop below $80mil at peak production. That's cheaper than other alternatives. I believe mainly that's due to economies of scale.
In $2012 dollars the F-35A is 76/86(lowest/average) million over it’s production run, the F-35B/C is 94/109 million. The F-16 Block 52 is likely 73 million, A Super Hornet is 63/79 million, a Growler is 64/72, the Gripen E/F is around 80-85 mil, the Rafale C is 87mil and M is 100mil, the Eurofighter T3 costs 110 million in $2012, the F-22 115/181 million These costs are UNRF. Unit costs are often confused between Unit Recurring Flyaway(basic airframe + engines + avionics), Unit Non-Recurring Flyaway(+ mission/weapon systems, ancillary and equipment), Procurement Unit Cost (+Spares), and Program Acquisition Unit Cost (+Development costs), it is important to compare the same cost measure. It is also very important to ensure calculations are made in same year dollars as inflation can rapidly change apparent pricing.
Comprehensive Information
The whole section on cost
11) Costing. Cost is a big contentious point for the F-35 but is often misrepresented with inflationary figures in $Then Year out to 2065, if we account for inflation the JSF program will cost a total $917 Billion in $2012 dollars, this is for development, procurement and sustainment out to 2065 of 2,443 aircraft. Development and Procurement is $59 and $257 Billion respectively, another 3.9 Billion for Construction and Operations & Sustainment is $597 Billion $2012. These estimates include Cost Growth Above Inflation over the 55 years as well as a mid-life upgrade and subsystems(ECM, EOTS etc) that legacy aircraft don’t include, there are also many factors in CAPE/GAO reports that is questionable such as depot level maintenance and removal rates, the latest SAR also doesn’t include newer data such as the Cost War Room that is set to save $41 Billion. JPO maintains an O&S cost of 535 billion. Production starts off in Low Rate Initial Production(LRIP) slowing ramping up to Full Rate Production(FRP) in 2018 and up to 120 aircraft per year in 2022, the prices for each lot decrease‘s as economies of scale increase and as more efficient production techniques are learnt.
Cost increases, there is a lot of confusion over the exact increase due to the issue of cutting aircraft and delays causing inflation to affect the amounts. In 2001 the SDD started with the idea of 2,866 aircraft and 35 billion in development but no baseline was approved, in 2003 the first baseline was approved at 2,457 aircraft(13 dedicated to testing) and 45 billion development. The original prediction was 177 Billion in $2002, this is 226 Billion in $2012 based on Bureau of Labor Statistics, the current estimate is 323 Billion in $2012, this means the program is 43% over the predicted amount when accounting for inflation, this has been declining since 2009 high of 345 Billion. Of this increase apparently 40% of it is accountable to Lockheed faults, 22% for Pratt & Whitney and the rest is Government changes either in requirements(war spares) or how to estimate costs.
The F-35 will have an individual 30 year operational life with production out to 2038 for a total 2,457 aircraft. The F-35 is replacing 1,200 F-16’s, 254 F-15C/Ds, 340 A-10’s, 100 Harriers, 662 Hornets and not scheduled to replace 200 F-15Es, 565 Super Hornets and 114 Growlers.
Now what about relative to other aircraft? Development is pretty pricey, at 55 billion its more than the F-22 at 42 billion, and the Euro-fighter and Rafale are about 30-25 billion respectively, the LRS-B is estimated to cost 24 billion, the B-2 cost about 37 billion.
How about aircraft unit costs? Unit Costs are often compared to older aircraft, this is not accurate as aircraft are always becoming more expensive as complexity and demands increase resulting in more highly capable, albeit expensive aircraft.
In $2012 dollars the F-35A is 76/86(lowest/average) million over it’s production run, the F-35B/C is 94/109 million. The F-16 Block 52 is likely 73 million, A Super Hornet is 63/79 million, a Growler is 64/72, the Gripen E/F is around 80-85 mil, the Rafale C is 87mil and M is 100mil, the Eurofighter T3 costs 110 million in $2012, the F-22 115/181 million These costs are UNRF. Unit costs are often confused between Unit Recurring Flyaway(basic airframe + engines + avionics), Unit Non-Recurring Flyaway(+ mission/weapon systems, ancillary and equipment), Procurement Unit Cost (+Spares), and Program Acquisition Unit Cost (+Development costs), it is important to compare the same cost measure. It is also very important to ensure calculations are made in same year dollars as inflation can rapidly change apparent pricing.
Also to remember is the aircraft lifetime, the Super Hornet is rated for 6,000 hours years where as all F-35s are 8,000 hours, to add more hours to the Super Hornet is called a SLEP and costs 28 million for 3,000 hours. The Eurofighter is rated for 6,000 hours and Rafale 7,000 hours, the F-22 is 8,000 hours, as is the F-16.
How about cost per flying hour?
The F-35A flies 250 hours(higher capability simulators replace some flying hours)per year at the cost of $32.5k per hour, cost of $8.1 million per year. An active F-16 flies 316 hours per year at a cost of $8.2 million per year and 26k per hour, the F-16 does not include pods(Fuel, ECM, Targeting) required to reach similar capability as the F-35. The F-16s cost is also increasing as it get’s older and will soon eclipse the F-35As. It’s important to compare the same type of cost, there is Operational Cost Per Flying Hour and the Variable Cost Per Flying Hour which is considerably lower.
An interesting exercise is the comparison of the F-22 to the F-35 projects. The F-22 started with an APUC of $35 million $1985 which is $70 million in $2009 in 2009 the APUC was $160 million with notable performance cuts and delays. Same goes for the F/A-18 although a much less risky program it still encountered significant issues such as a 50% price increase, schedule slippage, questionable performance etc. This GAO report was highly critical of the F-16 in 1977.
The F-35’s development timeline is also relatively moderate. The Rafale started development in 1982 and introduced in 2001(19 years). The Euro-fighter started in 1983 and was introduced in 2003(20 years). The Raptor started in 1986 and entered service in 2005(19 years). The PAK-FA, an evolutionary aircraft, started in 2001 and will be introduced in 2017(16 years). The Gripen started development in 1979 and was introduced in 1998(19 years). The Hornet was a redesign of the YF-17(9 years) from 1975 to 1983(8 Years) from which the Super Hornet evolved from 1992 to 2000(8 years). The F-35 in comparison to all of these started in 1996 with USAF IOC in 2016(20 years). Whatever happened to the four year aircraft?
11) Costing. Cost is a big contentious point for the F-35 but is often misrepresented with inflationary figures in $Then Year out to 2065, if we account for inflation the JSF program will cost a total $917 Billion in $2012 dollars, this is for development, procurement and sustainment out to 2065 of 2,443 aircraft. Development and Procurement is $59 and $257 Billion respectively, another 3.9 Billion for Construction and Operations & Sustainment is $597 Billion $2012. These estimates include Cost Growth Above Inflation over the 55 years as well as a mid-life upgrade and subsystems(ECM, EOTS etc) that legacy aircraft don’t include, there are also many factors in CAPE/GAO reports that is questionable such as depot level maintenance and removal rates, the latest SAR also doesn’t include newer data such as the Cost War Room that is set to save $41 Billion. JPO maintains an O&S cost of 535 billion. Production starts off in Low Rate Initial Production(LRIP) slowing ramping up to Full Rate Production(FRP) in 2018 and up to 120 aircraft per year in 2022, the prices for each lot decrease‘s as economies of scale increase and as more efficient production techniques are learnt.
Now what about relative to other aircraft? Development is pretty pricey, at 55 billion its more than the F-22 at 42 billion, and the Euro-fighter and Rafale are about 30-25 billion respectively, the LRS-B is estimated to cost 24 billion, the B-2 cost about 37 billion.
In $2012 dollars the F-35A is 76/86(lowest/average) million over it’s production run, the F-35B/C is 94/109 million. The F-16 Block 52 is likely 73 million, A Super Hornet is 63/79 million, a Growler is 64/72, the Gripen E/F is around 80-85 mil, the Rafale C is 87mil and M is 100mil, the Eurofighter T3 costs 110 million in $2012, the F-22 115/181 million These costs are UNRF. Unit costs are often confused between Unit Recurring Flyaway(basic airframe + engines + avionics), Unit Non-Recurring Flyaway(+ mission/weapon systems, ancillary and equipment), Procurement Unit Cost (+Spares), and Program Acquisition Unit Cost (+Development costs), it is important to compare the same cost measure. It is also very important to ensure calculations are made in same year dollars as inflation can rapidly change apparent pricing.
Also to remember is the aircraft lifetime, the Super Hornet is rated for 6,000 hours years where as all F-35s are 8,000 hours, to add more hours to the Super Hornet is called a SLEP and costs 28 million for 3,000 hours. The Eurofighter is rated for 6,000 hours and Rafale 7,000 hours, the F-22 is 8,000 hours, as is the F-16.
How about cost per flying hour?
An interesting exercise is the comparison of the F-22 to the F-35 projects. The F-22 started with an APUC of $35 million $1985 which is $70 million in $2009 in 2009 the APUC was $160 million with notable performance cuts and delays. Same goes for the F/A-18 although a much less risky program it still encountered significant issues such as a 50% price increase, schedule slippage, questionable performance etc. This GAO report was highly critical of the F-16 in 1977.
The F-35’s development timeline is also relatively moderate. The Rafale started development in 1982 and introduced in 2001(19 years). The Euro-fighter started in 1983 and was introduced in 2003(20 years). The Raptor started in 1986 and entered service in 2005(19 years). The PAK-FA, an evolutionary aircraft, started in 2001 and will be introduced in 2017(16 years). The Gripen started development in 1979 and was introduced in 1998(19 years). The Hornet was a redesign of the YF-17(9 years) from 1975 to 1983(8 Years) from which the Super Hornet evolved from 1992 to 2000(8 years). The F-35 in comparison to all of these started in 1996 with USAF IOC in 2016(20 years). Whatever happened to the four year aircraft?
I'm in Vegas right now.
Last time I was here was in 09 I think for red flag.
(At the time when that OP was on, it became the 3rd largest air power in the world, if it was independent of course)
Out on the pan they had all the various lines setup from all over. 1st on the pan was top gun. Which was surreal as I can't even remember if I knew it was a real thing at that point. Second was 1F squadron harriers. It was a badass trip and arriving here yesterday is sure bringing back some memories.
Glad to see f35 smashed it tho. I have worked with a lot of people from that program who diddnt doesn't have nice things to say about it. So if they are getting their shit figured out that's great
Last time I was here was in 09 I think for red flag.
(At the time when that OP was on, it became the 3rd largest air power in the world, if it was independent of course)
Out on the pan they had all the various lines setup from all over. 1st on the pan was top gun. Which was surreal as I can't even remember if I knew it was a real thing at that point. Second was 1F squadron harriers. It was a badass trip and arriving here yesterday is sure bringing back some memories.
Glad to see f35 smashed it tho. I have worked with a lot of people from that program who diddnt doesn't have nice things to say about it. So if they are getting their shit figured out that's great
M
member 3289
Guest
Who else are we giving this plane to, besides the Japanese?
Lockheed is developing three models of the plane for the U.S. military and eight partner countries that helped fund the plane's development - Britain, Australia, Italy, Turkey, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Canada.
South Korea, Japan and Israel have also placed orders for the jet.
The 11 countries expected to buy F-35 fighter jet
Can I point out how insane this quantity is btw,
3100ish sold globally
2443 to the USA
I don't know the reliabtility here but to ballpark:
All countries compared for Military > Air force > Combat aircraft
Total Fighter Aircraft
1 United States 3,318 2011
2 Russia 1,900 2008
3 China 1,500 2014
4 India 1,080 2011
5 Egypt 900 2011
6 North Korea 661 2011
Replacing f16, f18, a-10, and growlers etc. Not sure of their numbers, but might work out to an overall reduction in numbers.
They should keep a10s.
Why do you say that?
100000% This. Iirc they were on the verge of getting scrapped before we decided to blow Iraq up. Fucking love A10s. No JSF is coming close to them in a close air support role. If I could be 18 again, I'd join the air force with no other intention of flying an A10. Close air support, Vulcan cannon, hellfire missles, titanium bathtub - all those words give me a chub.
We still fly B52's. What do they do? They fly high, carry large ordinance, and drop it on anyone in their way.
The A10 is equally specialized. It goes "Brrrrrrrrrrrtt" and leaves smoking trash in its wake.
God I'd love to just take one pass on, well, anything, with an A10.
The A10 is equally specialized. It goes "Brrrrrrrrrrrtt" and leaves smoking trash in its wake.
God I'd love to just take one pass on, well, anything, with an A10.
M
member 1013
Guest
I like airplanes
Testimony from one of the first Israeli test pilots of the F35. Translation isn't the best, but it's not bad.
Major A, one of eight Israeli pilots trained to fly the F-35 ("Adir"), took it for a spin • Computer ignores your instructions when they are not correct, very pleasant to fly, drop enemy planes out of the sky before they even know you're there
I sat in the cockpit and the first thing I notice is stick and throttle, like in every other plane, but there are no buttons or dials. All the engineers left is one big 16" touchscreen.
Like smartphone is also a camera and an encyclopedia, F-35's radar screen doubles as a fuel gauge and a missile system display. The pilot is introduced to a small, intuitive application which requires almost no learning. If something on the screen is displayed in red — it's bad; if it's Green — all fine; Yellow — understanding only. This way the pilot's burden to process real-time information flow is eased, and in the case of Adir, I find very quickly not allowed. One F-35 can collect more information than four previous generation fighters together and display a clear and easy to pilot lost in a tsunami of information thrown at him.
F-35 is a single-seater. It's sophisticated and easy to operate, with simulator, even the first flight solo. Instead navigate or manual there.
Remember the famous scene--Star Wars: a new hope when Luke Skywalker's battle shachllit compromised extracts R2D2 and a screwdriver and fix the wiring while flying? The robot here call and runs alongside ICP pilot once you rotate the key to sending the plane. No, don't open. There are 16 digits, it Kodan as to remember the number of your credit card. Actually ICP between each action that the pilot wants to make the plane. And some he didn't commit, for example if it is busy or if they don't like him. Actions that can cause a plane to lose control and crash into a niche like no.
כש־, ICP recognizes fault is not drop it you by default. At first he treats himself, and will notify you if there is a need for further action. If you have found a purpose in some, it will show you only when important and immediate enough so as not to waste valuable time you all.
Until now I used to have one screen, two radar map and your location, and it warned on Tuesday. You should cross all three and to function within all the information thrown at you from three directions while you are driving a machine that ב־900 advanced kph and under rocket attack at 3,000 km/h or more. As a young pilot, you usually change course information and freezes at the controls. In the F-35 should not construct and hold the top of the image. Don't even have to click a button. More than that, I don't even know where the information came from. He could have come from a rocket alert system, or even how much came from another plane's radar and transferred. All that's left to do is to decide what to do with the information. Whether it's a missile launch over, throw on that bomb or maybe just to turn around and go home. So when it comes to calculation ability and correct decisions — even before he started to try to knock other aircraft — the F-35 pilot is already in.
Let's talk a moment about stealth technology. Stealth aircraft consists of special materials and shaped of the fewer radar back, so they see it only in much shorter range compared to conventional aircraft. This is a very significant advantage on the battlefield because today — the range of years — it is very difficult to detect and damage the plane without radar detection has other means to shoot down planes, like guns or heat-seeking missiles, but they have a great affinity for the purpose, that's hard to achieve without exceeding the from bottom line, took off on a mission for the F-35, you see enemy planes within largest and can harm them. While they need to approach you to see you and hurt you. You have all the tools to take them down before they enter a range that could put you at risk.
It's hard to explain the change it brings to the battlefield and how it significantly. It's a little like playing with a cheats, or גיבור־על. In F-16 I would bleed to win — or a training Simulator, and together with another plane — a pair of planes as enemy. Many times I was on the kidnapping. ב"אדיר, it's just not pair pair against the practice. The magic make it to children. Please bring six enemy planes, or it won't.
F-35 fighter jet is not the best in every category, but at worst probably a close second. The F-15 can carry more bombs, F-16 might be a bit more nimble. But war is not sterile world of separate capabilities on a spreadsheet. How exactly can the F-15 penetrate and destroy enemy missile batteries if it can be seen hundreds of miles away? What use is there for F-16s excellent maneuverability, if the enemy plane can take it down long before the pilot realizes he needs to maneuver? As a tool of war, Adir has abilities no other aircraft can match. Even though the advantage might not be permanent, it definitely makes you feel good. At least for now.
Major A, one of eight Israeli pilots trained to fly the F-35 ("Adir"), took it for a spin • Computer ignores your instructions when they are not correct, very pleasant to fly, drop enemy planes out of the sky before they even know you're there
I sat in the cockpit and the first thing I notice is stick and throttle, like in every other plane, but there are no buttons or dials. All the engineers left is one big 16" touchscreen.
Like smartphone is also a camera and an encyclopedia, F-35's radar screen doubles as a fuel gauge and a missile system display. The pilot is introduced to a small, intuitive application which requires almost no learning. If something on the screen is displayed in red — it's bad; if it's Green — all fine; Yellow — understanding only. This way the pilot's burden to process real-time information flow is eased, and in the case of Adir, I find very quickly not allowed. One F-35 can collect more information than four previous generation fighters together and display a clear and easy to pilot lost in a tsunami of information thrown at him.
F-35 is a single-seater. It's sophisticated and easy to operate, with simulator, even the first flight solo. Instead navigate or manual there.
Remember the famous scene--Star Wars: a new hope when Luke Skywalker's battle shachllit compromised extracts R2D2 and a screwdriver and fix the wiring while flying? The robot here call and runs alongside ICP pilot once you rotate the key to sending the plane. No, don't open. There are 16 digits, it Kodan as to remember the number of your credit card. Actually ICP between each action that the pilot wants to make the plane. And some he didn't commit, for example if it is busy or if they don't like him. Actions that can cause a plane to lose control and crash into a niche like no.
כש־, ICP recognizes fault is not drop it you by default. At first he treats himself, and will notify you if there is a need for further action. If you have found a purpose in some, it will show you only when important and immediate enough so as not to waste valuable time you all.
Until now I used to have one screen, two radar map and your location, and it warned on Tuesday. You should cross all three and to function within all the information thrown at you from three directions while you are driving a machine that ב־900 advanced kph and under rocket attack at 3,000 km/h or more. As a young pilot, you usually change course information and freezes at the controls. In the F-35 should not construct and hold the top of the image. Don't even have to click a button. More than that, I don't even know where the information came from. He could have come from a rocket alert system, or even how much came from another plane's radar and transferred. All that's left to do is to decide what to do with the information. Whether it's a missile launch over, throw on that bomb or maybe just to turn around and go home. So when it comes to calculation ability and correct decisions — even before he started to try to knock other aircraft — the F-35 pilot is already in.
Let's talk a moment about stealth technology. Stealth aircraft consists of special materials and shaped of the fewer radar back, so they see it only in much shorter range compared to conventional aircraft. This is a very significant advantage on the battlefield because today — the range of years — it is very difficult to detect and damage the plane without radar detection has other means to shoot down planes, like guns or heat-seeking missiles, but they have a great affinity for the purpose, that's hard to achieve without exceeding the from bottom line, took off on a mission for the F-35, you see enemy planes within largest and can harm them. While they need to approach you to see you and hurt you. You have all the tools to take them down before they enter a range that could put you at risk.
It's hard to explain the change it brings to the battlefield and how it significantly. It's a little like playing with a cheats, or גיבור־על. In F-16 I would bleed to win — or a training Simulator, and together with another plane — a pair of planes as enemy. Many times I was on the kidnapping. ב"אדיר, it's just not pair pair against the practice. The magic make it to children. Please bring six enemy planes, or it won't.
F-35 fighter jet is not the best in every category, but at worst probably a close second. The F-15 can carry more bombs, F-16 might be a bit more nimble. But war is not sterile world of separate capabilities on a spreadsheet. How exactly can the F-15 penetrate and destroy enemy missile batteries if it can be seen hundreds of miles away? What use is there for F-16s excellent maneuverability, if the enemy plane can take it down long before the pilot realizes he needs to maneuver? As a tool of war, Adir has abilities no other aircraft can match. Even though the advantage might not be permanent, it definitely makes you feel good. At least for now.