Air Combat: Five Reasons Fifth-Gen Fighters Don’t Need Help From Jammer Planes (From Forbes)
An arcane controversy has bubbled up in military circles about whether jamming aircraft will be needed in the future to support the combat operations of fifth-generation fighters like the F-35 Lightning II. The Air Force and Marine Corps apparently have no plans to buy new jammers, but the Navy says it needs more than the 138 it has already ordered — in part, presumably, to support its carrier based F-35s. However, all three variants of F-35 have integrated stealth designs that thoroughly disrupt the kill chains of enemy defenders plus on-board electronic-warfare systems that match or exceed the performance of rival jammers. Those systems are closely tied to other on-board equipment affording pilots unprecedented situational awareness and numerous tactical options, including non-kinetic attack on enemy networks. Besides, fourth-gen jammers can’t follow F-35s deep into hostile airspace so they have limited defensive utility, and their presence might tip off enemies as to the location of otherwise stealthy strike aircraft. I have written a commentary for Forbes here.
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