“There has never been an aircraft that provides as much situational awareness as the F-35,” Major Justin “Hasard” Lee, an Air Force F-35 pilot instructor, tells Popular Mechanics. It’s why F-35s have come to be known as “quarterbacks in the sky” or “ a computer that happens to fly.” But it’s not the F-35’s firepower that really makes the difference, it’s the computing power. The F-35 can fly at speeds as high as Mach 1.6 and can carry an internal payload of four weapons without compromising its stealth. ✈ Don’t miss any of our best-in-class military and defense coverage. Ultimately, the F-35 fighter jet won the day, breaking down one of the world’s most advanced air defense networks and relaying the data to missile-packed fighters like the F-16.
“On the last week of a Red Flag exercise we really throw everything we have at the Blue Force and replicate the toughest adversary possible,” says Travolis “Jaws” Simmons, commander of the 57th Adversary Tactics Group. Enemy fighters sporting the color schemes of Russian Su-30s began to close in. Soon, cockpit displays in each aircraft began to light up and alarms sounded, indicating that the formation was being painted by multiple radar arrays tied to surface-to-air missiles and inbound fighters. Play icon The triangle icon that indicates to play
