The F-35 thread

The United States could alter its decades-old North American Aerospace Defense Command deal with Canada should its government backtrack on the purchase of 88 Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets, the U.S. ambassador to Canada has warned.

In the latest back-and-forth between the U.S. and Canada over the deal, Ambassador Pete Hoekstra cautioned that if Canada purchased fewer fighter jets, the U.S. would “fill those gaps” in security concerns.

www.independent.co.uk

US warns it will send fighter jets into Canadian airspace if F-35 deal fails

Cost of F-35 advanced fighter jet program has risen by $8 billion in the last three years
www.independent.co.uk www.independent.co.uk
 
sefeddt said:
The United States could alter its decades-old North American Aerospace Defense Command deal with Canada should its government backtrack on the purchase of 88 Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets, the U.S. ambassador to Canada has warned.

In the latest back-and-forth between the U.S. and Canada over the deal, Ambassador Pete Hoekstra cautioned that if Canada purchased fewer fighter jets, the U.S. would “fill those gaps” in security concerns.

www.independent.co.uk

US warns it will send fighter jets into Canadian airspace if F-35 deal fails

Cost of F-35 advanced fighter jet program has risen by $8 billion in the last three years
www.independent.co.uk www.independent.co.uk
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An suddenly Gripen gets another plus, less political interference.
 
Pegging said:
The Gripen has American and Israeli parts.

The important parts….
Click to expand...
But that life at hardware and the US is playing at a political level here which is wyabless likely with Gripen. The F-35 also have a lot of European components including the avionics. The list is actually painful from a US perspective since they basically assemble it.

aerospaceglobalnews.com

1,900 suppliers: Where the Lockheed Martin F-35 is actually built

Where is the Lockheed Martin F-35 built? It involves US, UK, and global suppliers in a multinational effort.
aerospaceglobalnews.com aerospaceglobalnews.com
 
There’s a nice show on DStv 181 top gun documentary. I watched a bit last night.

Apologies about the derailment lol.
 
Pegging said:
The Gripen has American and Israeli parts.

The important parts….
Click to expand...
The big item is that US General Electric engine, which requires ITAR approval for export. It is license built in Sweden. There are other US components in the flight control, mission computers and the GPS.

Some seem to have the Israeli helmet mounted display, but the local aircraft have a system jointly developed by BAE and South Africa.
 
garyc said:
The big item is that US General Electric engine, which requires ITAR approval for export. It is license built in Sweden. There are other US components in the flight control, mission computers and the GPS.

Some seem to have the Israeli helmet mounted display, but the local aircraft have a system jointly developed by BAE and South Africa.
Click to expand...
The list European parts in the F-35 is in this thread somewhere which include the avionics. The South African head tracker system made for the Eurofighter was the backup system for the F-35 in case the US system didn't work out.
 
Defense Daily first reported that the U.S. military had received F-35s with no radars last week, citing an unnamed source. Deliveries of radar-less F-35s were said to have started in June 2025, with all A models for the U.S. Air Force arriving since then, at least, affected. The story does not elaborate on how the decision to accept jets in this configuration was arrived at. Foreign customers, all of whom are still currently acquiring jets fitted with the older AN/APG-81 radar, have reportedly not been impacted.
Click to expand...

www.twz.com

Are F-35s Being Delivered To The USAF Without Radars? (Updated)

Even if the jets lack radars, that doesn't mean they are useless, but their capabilities and survivability would be degraded.
www.twz.com www.twz.com
 
garyc said:
Seems that they have learned from software companies how to deliver before things are ready and fix it later.

This may be a problem for the Marines, who are retiring their AV8s this year in favor of the F-35.
Click to expand...
The currently can't build the radars since China controls like 98 of the rare earth material needed for it.
 

Dutch Defence Minister Gijs Tuinman has stated that there is an option for foreign operators of the F-35 fifth generation fighter to ‘crack’ its code, making it accept third party software against the restrictions imposed by its developer Lockheed Martin. “If, despite everything, you still want to upgrade, I’m going to say something I should never say, but I will anyway: you can jailbreak an F-35 just like an iPhone,” he observed.
Click to expand...
 
Hahahaha the US self-sabotaging themselves coming home to roost - because no consecutive series of governments can be as stupid as relying solely on China for rare earths.
 
OutlawJoseyWales said:
Hahahaha the US self-sabotaging themselves coming home to roost - because no consecutive series of governments can be as stupid as relying solely on China for rare earths.
Click to expand...
USSR got caught like this first. All the titanium used on the SR-71 originated from them.
 
OutlawJoseyWales said:
Hahahaha the US self-sabotaging themselves coming home to roost - because no consecutive series of governments can be as stupid as relying solely on China for rare earths.
Click to expand...

I’m not sure the comment is accurate though. China appears to have just over 50% of the rare earth reserves.

1771265862107.png
 
Dave said:
I’m not sure the comment is accurate though. China appears to have just over 50% of the rare earth reserves.

View attachment 1886533
Click to expand...
The have cornered the market on refining. It requires a lot of paperwork in the West and nine in China. So it was always easier and cheaper to let the Chinese do it. Refinng the stuff is nowhere near environmentally friendly.
 
Blu82 said:
The have cornered the market on refining. It requires a lot of paperwork in the West and nine in China. So it was always easier and cheaper to let the Chinese do it. Refinng the stuff is nowhere near environmentally friendly.
Click to expand...

OK. Though I see the USAF has now denied any F-35’s are received without radar.

www.twz.com

Air Force Now Denies Receiving F-35s Without Radars

The F-35 Joint Program Office had declined just earlier this week to confirm or deny a report that jets without radars were being delivered.
www.twz.com www.twz.com
 
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