How Fast Could Gunfighters In The Old West Draw And Shoot

Exam Pilot Admits the F-35 Tin can't Dogfight

New stealth fighter is expressionless meat in an air boxing

by DAVID AXE

A test pilot has some very, very bad news about the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The pricey new stealth jet tin can't plow or climb fast enough to hitting an enemy plane during a dogfight or to dodge the enemy's own gunfire, the pilot reported post-obit a 24-hour interval of mock air battles back in January.

"The F-35 was at a distinct energy disadvantage," the unnamed pilot wrote in a scathing five-page brief that State of war Is Dull has obtained. The brief is unclassified only is labeled "for official use merely."

The examination pilot'due south report is the latest evidence of primal problems with the design of the F-35 — which, at a total programme cost of more than than a trillion dollars, is history's well-nigh expensive weapon.

The U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps — not to mention the air forces and navies of more a dozen U.S. allies — are counting on the Lockheed Martin-made JSF to replace many if not most of their current fighter jets.

And that ways that, within a few decades, American and centrolineal aviators volition fly into boxing in an inferior fighter — 1 that could get them killed … and price the Us control of the air.

The fateful test took identify on Jan. 14, 2022, obviously within the Sea Test Range over the Pacific Ocean near Edwards Air Force Base in California. The single-seat F-35A with the designation "AF-02" — 1 of the older JSFs in the Air Forcefulness — took off aslope a two-seat F-16D Cake forty, one of the types of planes the F-35 is supposed to replace.

The two jets would be playing the roles of opposing fighters in a pretend air battle, which the Air Forcefulness organized specifically to test out the F-35'due south prowess as a close-range dogfighter in an air-to-air tangle involving high "angles of attack," or AoA, and "aggressive stick/pedal inputs."

In other words, the F-35 pilot would wing his jet difficult, turning and maneuvering in guild to "shoot downward" the F-xvi, whose pilot would be doing his own best to evade and kill the F-35.

"The evaluation focused on the overall effectiveness of the aircraft in performing various specified maneuvers in a dynamic environment," the F-35 tester wrote. "This consisted of traditional Basic Fighter Maneuvers in offensive, defensive and neutral setups at altitudes ranging from ten,000 to xxx,000 feet."

At tiptop and above — F-35s and F-16s. Air Force photos

The F-35 was flying "clean," with no weapons in its bomb bay or under its wings and fuselage. The F-16, by dissimilarity, was hauling 2 bulky underwing drop tanks, putting the older jet at an aerodynamic disadvantage.

Merely the JSF's advantage didn't really help in the finish. The stealth fighter proved too sluggish to reliably defeat the F-16, even with the F-sixteen lugging extra fuel tanks. "Even with the limited F-16 target configuration, the F-35A remained at a distinct energy disadvantage for every date," the pilot reported.

The defeated flier's five-page report is a damning litany of aerodynamic complaints targeting the cumbersome JSF.

"Insufficient pitch rate." "Energy deficit to the bandit would increase over time." "The flying qualities in the blended region (20–26 degrees AoA) were not intuitive or favorable."

The F-35 jockey tried to target the F-16 with the stealth jet'due south 25-millimeter cannon, but the smaller F-16 easily dodged. "Instead of catching the bandit off-guard by rapidly pull aft to achieve lead, the nose rate was tiresome, allowing him to easily time his jink prior to a gun solution," the JSF pilot complained.

And when the airplane pilot of the F-16 turned the tables on the F-35, maneuvering to put the stealth airplane in his own gunsight, the JSF jockey found he couldn't maneuver out of the manner, owing to a "lack of olfactory organ rate.

The F-35 pilot came right out and said it — if you're flying a JSF, there's no indicate in trying to get into a sustained, close turning battle with another fighter. "At that place were non compelling reasons to fight in this region." God help you if the enemy surprises you and you take no choice but to plough.

The JSF tester found just one way to win a brusque-range air-to-air engagement — by performing a very specific maneuver. "Once established at loftier AoA, a prolonged full rudder input generated a fast enough yaw rate to create excessive heading crossing angles with opportunities to point for missile shots."

Just there'south a problem — this sliding maneuver bleeds energy fast. "The technique required a commitment to lose energy and was a temporary opportunity prior to needing to regain energy … and ultimately stop up defensive again." In other words, having tried the play a trick on in one case, an F-35 pilot is out of options and needs to get away quick.

And to add insult to injury, the JSF flier discovered he couldn't fifty-fifty comfortably move his head within the radar-evading jet's cramped cockpit. "The helmet was likewise big for the space inside the canopy to adequately run across backside the aircraft." That allowed the F-sixteen to sneak upwards on him.

In the end, the F-35 — the only new fighter jet that America and nigh of its allies are developing — is demonstrably inferior in a dogfight with the F-16, which the U.S. Air Force showtime caused in the belatedly 1970s.

The exam pilot explained that he has also flown 1980s-vintage F-15E fighter-bombers and found the F-35 to be "substantially junior" to the older plane when it comes to managing energy in a close battle.