[USA] Is F-35B a reliable fighter jet?

Is F-35B a reliable fighter jet?

Why do we call the F-35B reliable? Rumors of backlogs have plagued this fighter since its introduction. However, it was still known to be a capable fighter for the U.S. military and its allies.

F-35B fighter jet has another accident

The wreckage of an F-35B fighter jet that suddenly disappeared during a flight over the U.S. state of South Carolina has been found.

The U.S. military’s Charleston base said on September. 18 on X (formerly Twitter) that it was working with local authorities to find the wreckage in Williamsburg County, about two hours northeast of the Charleston base.

Earlier, the U.S. military said an F-35B Lightning II fighter jet had gone missing the day before, saying the pilot ejected safely after the crash but the fighter’s whereabouts were unknown.

“If you have any information that may assist our recovery team in locating the F-35, please contact the Base Defense Operations Center,” the base told X.

According to Lockheed Martin, the F-35’s manufacturer, the fighter jet’s stealth capabilities make it nearly impossible to detect on radar.

Un-reliable fighter’s armament

The F-35B’s lift fans take up a lot of space. Therefore, a machine gun cannot be built into the fuselage.

The bombing capacity is two 1,000-pounders.

It does not have an integral cannon inside the fuselage, so when performing CAS, an external cannon pod is mounted, as with the AV-8B Harrier II. (This may reduce stealth capability).

The F-35B’s position is ambiguous

The F-35C is twice as wide as the B Type.

The airframe is designed to be much stiffer than the A and B models.

This is because it has to withstand the heavy impact of flying from carrier to carrier.

It is also more durable in many other ways. This is the airframe that has shown flaws in its vertical takeoff and landing capabilities so far.

It is too difficult to position for 1. a light aircraft carrier 2. to risk a vertical takeoff and landing and 3. to just “jump in and out” of CAS.
It’s definitely a suitable fighter to sell to an ally with a light carrier.