By Kris Osborn, President, Warrior
Switzerland’s decision to acquire the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter seemed to send a ripple effect through the European Continent, leading some to suggest that indeed the 5th-Gen aircraft will become a unifying NATO-Europe thread of continuity if not begin to emerge as the stealth fighter for the “free world.” In subsequent years following Switzerland’s decision, Germany and the Czech Republic have also joined the F-35 community of nations.
Many are likely to wonder how this happened, as the F-35 journey has been complex, marked by controversy and embattled by a chorus of critics and cost concerns for many years. Certainly the program’s early pains have long since subsided and the aircraft is heralded by pilots and militaries alike, but there must be additional reasons for this massive F-35 global expansion?
Just what is it that makes the leap from 4th-to-5th generation so decisive with the F-35? Why does there appear to be a massive overmatch or discrepancy between the targeting, detectability and combat effectiveness of the F-35 when compared with upgraded 4th-generation aircraft? Such a statement, something possibly considered an exaggeration during earlier years in the F-35 program, is far from theoretical. Air Force war games such as Red Flag have for years shown that a single F-35 is capable of seeing and “eliminating” groups of advanced 4th-gen aircraft from ranges where it remains undetected. Also, there are now many years of US and European pilot testimonials, live fire tests, multi-national drills and war preparation exercises lending credibility to the stated merits of the aircraft. There is also the simple, unavoidable reality or fact that F-35 customers have exploded throughout the world, as the program has evolved from eight or nine member-nations to 18 in recent years.
Some may be inclined to ask why countries consistently choose the F-35, particularly given the European Typhoon, Rafale, Eurofighter and a handful of allied and rival-nation 5th-and-6th generation stealth fighters at various stages of production and development.
An interesting assessment performed and published by the Federal Council of the Swiss Government outlines the parameters and variables which informed its decision to purchase the F-35. Prior to announcing its decision to purchase the F-35, the Swiss government and military conducted a thorough investigation, assessment, test or “fly-off” among a small group of candidate aircraft under consideration.
A paper published by the Swiss Federal Council in 2021 called “Air2030: Federal Council Decides to Procure 36 F-35A fighter aircraft,” details the scope of the fly-off.
“The Federal Council based its decision on a comprehensive technical evaluation of four new fighter aircraft candidates (Eurofighter by Airbus, Germany; F/A-18 Super Hornet by Boeing, USA; F-35A by Lockheed Martin, USA; Rafale by Dassault, France).”
Certainly the Swiss paper cannot be oversimplified into merely a few words, yet it does unequivocally state that a determined F-35 “technological advantage” drove the decision.
Analysis From The Lockheed F-35 Factory in Fort Worth, Texas
Another critical two-word phrase used in the Swiss report is “information superiority,” a phrase often associated with discussions of the F-35s sensor fusion, high-fidelity long range sensors and computing power.
“The F-35A achieved the best result because it has a marked technological advantage over the other candidates: it includes entirely new, extremely powerful and comprehensively networked systems for protecting and monitoring airspace. The F-35A is able to ensure information superiority; this means pilots benefit from a higher situational awareness in all task areas when compared with the other candidates,” the Swiss report says.
Sensor Fusion
Sure enough, the often discussed F-35 “sensor fusion” elements of the F-35 through which otherwise disparate pools of data are aggregated, analyzed and presented to the pilot, continues to emerge as a paradigm-shifting element of modern fighter jet warfare. Instead of needing to simultaneously track and evaluate input from seemingly disconnected sources of data, such as navigation, targeting, altitude, speed …ect.. the F-35’s onboard computing power simply does this for the pilot and presents an organized picture for a pilot to view on a single screen.
To specify even further, sensor fusion has for years been described by Air Force and Lockheed weapons developers as an ability to merge, synthesize and integrate data from the plane’s 360-degree series of surrounding camera sensors called the Distributed Aperture System, its long-range, high-fidelity Electro-Optical-Targeting System and other elements of the plane’s computing, sensing and avionics. Years ago, a former Air Force Chief Scientists Dr. Gregory Zacharias told Warrior that indeed this kind of “fusion” is an early, successful implementation of AI and AI-like computing capabilities.
Furthermore, this information advantage is compounded by an F-35 specific networking mechanism called Multi-function Advanced DataLInk (MADL), a technology which enables F-35s from any nation to instantly and securely share information across a wide formation or combat envelope. This means F-35s from Switzerland, Germany and the Czech Republic could coordinate mission specifics, targeting details, reconnaissance information and combat operations seamlessly and in real-time. In effect, this means there can quickly and easily be a European content wide F-35 envelope or umbrella with which to safeguard Eastern Europe from any kind of Russian threat. The Swiss report touches on this by explaining that a fleet of 36 F-35As could secure the country’s airspace in the event of a conflict.
“…..a fleet of 36 aircraft would be large enough to cover Switzerland’s airspace protection needs over the longer term in a prolonged situation of heightened tensions. The Air Force must be able to ensure that Swiss airspace cannot be used by foreign parties in a military conflict,” the text of the Federal Council essay writes.
The Swiss essay also mentions F-35 survivability as a critical attribute informing the decision
“The F-35A is the only aircraft that has been designed from the ground up to be especially difficult for other weapons systems to detect. The resulting high survivability is a great advantage for the Swiss Air Force,” the report says.
Pilot Experience
Another clear, if somewhat less tangible, element of the decision simply relates to “ease of use” or pilot experience, as experienced pilots have for years emphasized that flying the F-35 represents an amazing leap forward when compared with any 4th-generation aircraft. Warrior spoke with F-35 pilots on board the USS Nimitz in 2014 during F-35C Developmental Testing III (DTII), and pilots reported paradigm-changing ease of use with the aircraft. This is largely due to computer automation and software, something especially critical in the case of the vertical take-off-and-landing F-35B. A sophisticated blend of software, sensing, automation and computing power enable the aircraft to hover and land in a semi-autonomous fashion, requiring much less pilot activity or direction. Part of this relates to an F-35 technology referred to as Delta Flight Path, a software system designed to autonomously assist with sensing, navigation and flight trajectory. This makes landing and maneuvering the plane much easier and less dangerous for pilots, particularly in windy, foggy or rough sea-state-like conditions.
Future Performance – Flying to 2050 and Beyond
The most decisive or impactful factor in the Swiss decision largely pertains to the future, meaning the F-35’s well known modernization path and proven ability to expand performance through iterative software upgrades. Weapons capacity, sensing and threat library details can all be massively improved in coming years. The fuselage or external configuration of the aircraft may not need to change much for the F-35 to become an entirely different and more capable plane in the coming decades. Certainly stealth coating, radar absorbing composite materials and thermal management can all be improved in future years, yet the largest anticipated technological breakthroughs will most likely arrive in the areas of missions systems, AI-enabled computing, sensing, target identification and weapons range … all areas which can vastly improve an aircraft’s performance parameters without needing to change its basic structure or shape. In recent years, for example, software enhancements have enabled the F-35 to fire the next-generation “Stormbreaker” air dropped bomb, a weapon which can track and destroy enemy targets in all weather conditions at distances out to 40 nautical miles. Stormbreaker is engineered with a tri-mode seeker, meaning it can target with semi-active laser, infrared or millimeter wave technology. This happens when software, fire control and weapons interfaces are effectively adjusted to accommodate new weapons, meaning the F-35 will likely be in position to integrate future, yet-to-exist weapons.
The Swiss report says …” it can be assumed that as the newest of the weapons systems evaluated, the F-35A will be able to sustain its technological lead well into the future. Given the planned service life of 30 years, this is a major advantage over the other candidates.”
Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University and a BA in English and Political Science from Kenyon College.
