Is The F-35 The Best Stealth Fighter in the World? What Do Pilots Think?

By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

(Washington DC) F-35: The Best Fighter Jet Today – The question as to which stealth fighter jet is the unrivaled best in the world is tough to decide concisely.

It seems almost unanswerable given how many unknowns there are likely to be when it comes to specific attributes and capabilities of many top stealth fighters. However, there are a few planes that come to mind and many unanswered questions.

Top Fighters

Available information on the F-35 raises the question that perhaps it is unrivaled by any aircraft in the world when it comes to sensing, computing, and weapons systems, yet the specific extent to which its attributes in these areas compare with Russia’s Su-57 or China’s J-20 and J-31 may be difficult to determine.

During the Air Force’s famous “Red Flag” Wargame several years ago, a single F-35 showed it was able to target and destroy a large number of enemy fighters from standoff distances where it was itself not seen by enemies. This would suggest, or at least raise the question, that the range and fidelity of the F-35’s targeting sensors may be unmatched.

This is the central question, meaning if the Chinese J-31 operates with a similar sensor range and targeting precision, perhaps it could rival an F-35. An ability to do this would also require a J-31 to operate with advanced, AI-like “sensor fusion” computing sufficient to process targeting detail ahead of or inside of an enemy’s decision cycle. The answer to this may be difficult to determine in the absence of an actual confrontation unless of course, the U.S. Air Force were somehow able to replicate a J-31’s capabilities. Certainly, a look at the external configuration may offer some indications of relevance related to its stealth properties, yet the speed of the J-31’s computing or fidelity and range of its sensors may be quite difficult to discern. 

Performance Wins Out

Nonetheless, based on its performance in wargames and high-tech sensing and weaponry, the F-35 may simply be unparalleled.

While an F-35 may not have the speed or thrust-to-weight ratio of an F-22, it has attributes as a multirole fighter, which would likely prove extremely difficult to replicate. An F-35 has a drone-like surveillance capability and a new generation of computing, processing speed, and sensor data integration along with a large arsenal of advanced weapons.