F-35 pilots talked to The National Interest about a wide range of attributes related to the jet, to include computing, weapons, stealth configuration, data management and speed, yet all of this pertains to a fundamental reality which pilots say may be of greatest significance … life.
Pilots are much more likely to survive in an F-35 than other available fighter jets, pilots say.
F-35: Survivability
F-35 pilot and Chief of Fighter Operation at Lockheed Martin Tony “Brick” Wilson says pilot survivability is arguably the most significant advantage of the F-35.
“It’s not just survivability when you take this aircraft into harm’s way. Pilot safety is first and foremost in almost everything that we do from the time that the canopy comes down to the time the jet is back, safe on deck, having completed its mission. Then the pilot is able to hop out safely and go home,” Wilson said in the interview.
Naturally, there are many contributing components to survivability, to include stealth, speed, precision weaponry and long-range sensing. Wilson explained that F-35 sensing and computing can give pilots specifics regarding the extent of a threat, giving them key insight regarding how best to manage an engagement.
“What I mean by that is when flying my fourth-generation aircraft, it’s a combination of not only managing your own sensors, not only taking in the information a particular data link is providing, but also knowing just how intensive an air-to-air engagement or an air-to-surface engagement is,” Wilson said.
F-35: Auto Ground Collision Avoidance System
Alongside these attributes, survivability attributes for the F-35 also include the existence on an integrated Auto Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto GCAS), a technology which uses computer automation and advanced algorithms to change course in flight autonomously in the event that a pilot is incapacitated.
