How an F-35 Could be Used to Destroy Enemy ICBMs

Video Above: A Conversation with Peter Huessy, Senior Warrior Maven Nuclear Weapons Analyst

By Kris Osborn – President & Editor-In-Chief, Warrior Maven

The Pentagon is working with industry to explore the possibility that bomb, missile or laser-armed F-35s could destroy an attacking nuclear-armed Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) targeting the US, potentially bringing a new dimension to existing defenses.

“We are now looking at how we could close the kill chain on that process,” officials familiar with the conversations told the National Interest

F-35 and ICBM

The concept, according to industry and Pentagon developers, would be to use F-35 weapons and sensors to detect or destroy an ICBM launch during its initial “boost” phase of upward flight toward the boundary of the earth’s atmosphere. The F-35 could use a “kinetic” solution wherein it fires upon and destroys a launching ICBM — or a “sensor” solution where it “cues missile defense systems.”

While Pentagon F-35 officials emphasize the F-35 program is currently focused on nearer-term efforts such as delivering software upgrades to the airplane, there is growing consensus that exploring F-35 nuclear missile defense is something of great potential benefit. Early conversations and conceptual work are already underway.

The prospect of using an F-35 for this purpose introduces a range of defensive possibilities not yet part of the Pentagon’s missile defense arsenal. For instance, an F-35 could fire air-to-ground bombs or missiles to explode the ICBM, or even use lasers and electronic warfare to incinerate, jam or disable the flight trajectory of an attacking ICBM. If an ICBM guidance system, or propulsion mechanisms were interfered with, an ICBM might be thrown off, heading into the ocean or an uninhabited area less likely to cause damage.