Fifth generation fighter! The West produces the F-35, but it is not ready for real war

The American company Lockheed Martin is finally taking delivery of new fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters after nearly a year of delays. But supporters of US air power can't celebrate just yet. For at least another six months, the newly delivered F-35s will only perform training missions, writes The Telegraph.

It is noted that the United States has long hoped that the supersonic F-35, using stealth technology, at a cost of $ 80 million per copy, will replace most of the existing fleet of more than a thousand aging A-10 Warthogs , F -15 Eagle and F-16 Falcon.

It also states that the F-35 may soon become the only modern fifth-generation fighter produced in the United States and in the entire Western world: The F-35 plays a key role in the defense plans of many US allies

However, according to the release, the aircraft's Technology Refresh 3 software is not working properly. And in a modern military aircraft, the software is just as important as the hardware.

"The first TR-3-equipped test aircraft flew at Edwards Air Force Base in California in January 2023. By the summer of that year, Lockheed was ready to deliver new TR-3 aircraft to the US Air Force and other operators. The Air Force, however, was not satisfied with the tests and refused to accept the planes, the publication said. "The military and Lockheed finally reached a compromise: The Air Force will accept the F-35 with an earlier version of the TR-3 software, which will require fixes in the future ... The new aircraft will not be able to participate in real combat until next year.&ldquo ;.

The stakes are noted to be high:

"Currently, Russia and China have fifth-generation fighters. Today, the West produces only one fifth-generation aircraft – F-35 – and even if various Western sixth-generation projects such as NGAD or the planned British-Italian-Japanese Tempest come to fruition, for at least ten years only the F-35 will be able to withstand the forces of Putin and Xi Jinping.