Is the F-35 a bad dog fighter?

Astonishingly, the F-35 cannot dogfight, the crux of any fighter jet. According to test pilots, the F-35 is “substantially inferior” to the 40-year-old F-15 fighter jet in mock air battles. The F-35 could not turn or climb fast enough to hit an enemy plane or dodge enemy gunfire.

Is the F-35 A good airplane?

The F-35 is already a success, demonstrating combat flexibility and delivering a decisive advantage in Red Flag exercises. Pilots have raved about the jet’s performance. There are at least three arguments for the F-35 as the most cost-effective fighter the Air Force can buy: Stealth.

Is the F-35 as bad as some critics claim it is?

Nothing is as bad as some of the F-35’s critics claim it is. The F-35’s basic flaw is that it is a high tech multi-role multi-service fighter. Some people say it can never be a decent plane because – being multi-service and multi-role requires you to make serious compromises where a plane won’t be good at anything.

Does the F-35 have too small wings?

What many critics complain about with the F-35 is that it has too small wings (in order to be stored compactly on an aircraft carrier), which gives the aircraft little lift. The critics say that small wings give the F-35 bad lift because the wing area is crucial for an aircraft to achieve a good lift.

How much does the F-35 really cost?

For a plane that is supposed to be sufficiently versatile and modular to replace virtually all other combat aircraft, the F-35 has been used very little. The F-35 program will cost about $1.5 trillion, or approximately what the US government spent on the entire Iraq war.

Should F-35s be flown less often?

Brown acknowledged some recent issues with the F-35 and suggested one potential solution was to fly the plane less often. “I want to moderate how much we’re using those aircraft,” the general said. “You don’t drive your Ferrari to work every day, you only drive it on Sundays.