Latest news with #F-35LightningIIJointStrikeFighter
Business Insider
17-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Trump's talking about a twin-engine F-35. It sounds like this F-55 would be a whole new plane.
Lockheed Martin's F-35 stealth fighter is equipped with the world's most powerful fighter engine. It only has one of them, though, and President Donald Trump wants it to have two. That's no small change. Redesigning an F-35 for twin engines is essentially building a whole new aircraft, a former US Air Force pilot who was involved with the F-35 program told Business Insider. That could take decades and require huge expenditures from an administration that's set on slashing government spending. "The airframe is completely designed around a single engine," explained retired US Air Force Lt. Col. Eric Gunzinger, who worked on the advanced F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter as a program manager for flight simulation test and evaluation. "To put two engines in it would be a complete redesign of not only the hardware and the airframe, but also the software," he said. The plane would need to be larger and could see decreased range. Trump pitched an idea on Thursday for a new twin-engine version of the F-35 that he said he would call the F-55. "The F-35, we're doing an upgrade — a simple upgrade — but we're also doing an F-55. I'm going to call it an F-55," Trump said during a business roundtable in Qatar. He said that the jet would be a "substantial upgrade" with two engines because "I don't like single engines." "We're going to do an F-55" if the price is right, Trump said. "And that will be two engines and a super upgrade on the F-35." The F-35 is a fifth-generation stealth aircraft made by US defense giant Lockheed Martin. It was developed and manufactured as part of a multinational program, and since the first jet rolled off the production line, more than 1,100 have been delivered to the US and militaries overseas. The F-35 stealth fighter is a cornerstone of US airpower, with not just the ability to penetrate contested airspace but also quarterback American combat assets. While some Trump allies have criticized the aircraft over its high costs and questioned its ability to compete with drones, the president appears to be supportive of the program and the plane's prime contractor, as Trump also wants to upgrade the F-22 Raptor. Both the F-35 and the F-22 are receiving upgrades, the most notable for the former being the Block IV upgrades and Tech Refresh 3 expected to deliver significantly improved capabilities. The president's plans appear to be outside of these ongoing efforts on the fifth-gen fighters. In the case of the F-55, it almost certainly amounts to building a new fighter rather than modernizing existing F-35s considering the engineering challenges. Trump's comments came several weeks after Lockheed Martin's CEO James Taiclet said his company would "supercharge" the fighter aircraft and turn it into a "fifth-generation-plus" aircraft with nearly the capabilities of a sixth-generation fighter like the F-47, which will be built by competitor Boeing. The upgraded F-35 could include improved stealth tech and materials, better sensors, and longer-range weapons. The CEO made no mention of a second engine. A twin-engine F-35? More like a new F-55 fighter The F-35's powerful single Pratt & Whitney F135 engine sets it apart from other fifth-generation aircraft like the American F-22 Raptor, the Russian Su-57, and the Chinese J-20 and new J-35, which all have twin engines. The J-35 resembles a twin-engine F-35, at least in appearance. The F-35's lone F135 engine produces a whopping 43,000 pounds of thrust. The F-22's engines are each less powerful, by contrast, but together create 70,000 pounds of thrust. Gunzinger, a former F-111 Ardvaark pilot who served with the US Air Force for over 20 years, said that the F-35 has only one engine because compromises were made during development to ensure that the plane met the needs of multiple services simultaneously. The F-35 comes in three variants: the A for conventional take-off and landing, the B for short take-off and vertical landing, and the C for carrier-based operations. These three variants are generally operated by the Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy, respectively. The Marine-operated F-35B is especially unique because of the lift fan that allows it to land and take off in a hover. A twin-engine F-35B is unlikely considering the daunting technical hurdles to build it. "Technologically, it's a bridge too far to put two engines in an F-35B," Gunzinger said. During his remarks Thursday, Trump said he likes having more engines because there's a backup if one goes out. The only other US single-engine fighters are the F-16 Fighting Falcon and the AV-8B Harrier, the STOVL aircraft the F-35B is replacing. Gunzinger said two engines are, indeed, better than one, pointing to several instances when single-engine aircraft with engine issues wouldn't have been lost had it had a second engine. But the F-35 is a single-engine aircraft through and through. Anything else is a effectively a different plane. Talking about transforming the F-35 into a twin-engine aircraft is "talking about a completely different aircraft" that's years — if not decades — away, Gunzinger said. Unless there's a secret fighter jet program underway in the desert somewhere or it is based on Lockheed's failed bid to build the Next Generation Air Dominance fighter, this idea could mean starting from scratch to create a design with the right aeronautics, carrying capacity, and small radar cross-section. Frank Kendall, who was secretary of the Air Force until late January, told Breaking Defense that "a two-engine version of F-35 would be virtually a complete redesign," adding that the idea is "an option that was never presented and that we never considered." The White House did not provide further details on the F-55, and neither did the Air Force when BI asked. Lockheed Martin would not say whether it has been in discussions with the White House about a twin-engine F-35 or a new F-55. Lockheed said only that it looks forward to working on the administration's "vision for air dominance." Gunzinger said that building both the F-55 and Boeing's NGAD doesn't make sense. "The Air Force really can't afford another major fighter program," he added. "With the current budget and capabilities, you really have to decide on do you want an F-55, which is a brand new aircraft, or do you want the NGAD," another brand new aircraft. And both planes would likely bring similar capabilities to the fight.
Business Insider
17-05-2025
- Business Insider
The F-35's advanced stealth doesn't make it invisible, just hard to kill
A Houthi surface-to-air missile reportedly forced a US F-35 to take evasive action. The highly advanced F-35 is considered one of the top stealth fighter jets in the world. The aircraft, however, is not invisible or invincible. What does it mean for a jet to be a "stealth fighter?" It means it's hard to detect and tough to strike, but it doesn't mean the jet is invisible or invulnerable. The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, a top US stealth fighter, has been flying combat missions against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. During an intense two-month bombing campaign, both US Air Force F-35As and Navy F-35Cs were in the Middle East. This week, multiple news reports citing anonymous US officials indicated an F-35 took evasive action during Operation Rough Rider to avoid being struck by a Houthi surface-to-air missile. It's unclear if the F-35 was the target or to what extent the fighter was at risk. Neither the Pentagon nor US Central Command, which oversees Middle East operations, has responded to Business Insider's queries on this incident. The incident is notable because the F-35, a fifth-generation fighter jet with advanced stealth capabilities built by US defense contractor Lockheed Martin, was made to pierce contested airspace defended by sophisticated air defenses and advanced enemy aircraftand suppress enemy capabilities or feed targeting data to other assets. Last year, Israeli F-35s demonstrated the fighter jet's ability to fulfill this role by striking inside Iran. Though capable, Houthi air defenses fall short of the kind of threats the jet was made to confront. What, exactly, this means for the jet, if anything, is unclear considering the unknowns in this story. But there are aspects of the F-35 and stealth aircraft in general that are worth keeping in mind when thinking about these reports. Thinking about stealth aircraft Billie Flynn, a former Royal Canadian Air Force combat commander and Lockheed employee who was involved with the F-35 program for around 20 years, said that one aspect of stealth, the part most commonly looked at, is an aircraft's radar cross-section — something the size of a ping pong ball or a golf ball or smaller for a fighter aircraft like the F-35. "We can imagine how impossible that would be to detect high up in the air, many, many miles away," Flynn told BI. The F-35 — along with the F-22 Raptor, the B-2 Spirit bomber, and its eventual successor, the B-21 Raider — are defined as "very low observable" aircraft, and that capability comes from a combination of factors. The F-35 was designed with stealth in mind. According to Lockheed, the signature gray paint the jet is coated in at the end of the production line is intended to reduce and absorb radar signals. The aircraft's design also contributes to its low observability by eliminating flat surfaces and right angles, using composite materials, and allowing for the storage of weapons and fuel internally. The engine design also limits emissions. Those passive capabilities enhance the F-35's stealth, but it also features active systems like an advanced electronic warfare suite that can jam or inhibit enemy radars to prevent detection. President Donald Trump, who said this week he's not a big believer in stealth, said repeatedly during his first term that the F-35 is "invisible." It is not. These aren't cloaked Klingon warbirds from Star Trek, but they are tough to detect and difficult to hit. But no system is infallible. The US learned this lesson during the Kosovo War in the late 1990s, when the Yugoslav Army shot down a Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, marking the loss of one of America's first operational stealth planes. Nothing is invincible "Everything is spotable. The idea that you've got a cloaking device is very dangerous," said Richard Aboulafia, an aviation expert and the managing director of the US consulting firm AeroDynamic Advisory. "The most important asset of the F-35 is not its low observability," Aboulafia told BI, "it is its extremely advanced mission equipment package that allows it to spot dangers and targets, threats and targets." He said that's the real capability. Aboulafia said that being a low-observable aircraft means that there is less of a risk of being spotted and tracked, not that the plane is entirely stealthy all of the time. The way a jet is employed, such as if munitions are carried externally in what has been described for F-35s as "beast mode," can compromise stealth. Adversary air defenses can turn on their system at the right place at the right time and get lucky as well. In the case of the recent media reports, the US F-35 avoided the Houthi missile. But it's unclear whether the jet was actually targeted or if the rebels just fired in that general direction and happened to get somewhat close to the aircraft, forcing evasive maneuvers. Houthi air defenses are "a significant threat to military and civilian aircraft and platforms operating in the vicinity of Yemen," Gordon Davis, a retired US Army major general and NATO's former deputy assistant secretary-general for its Defense Investment Division, told BI. Davis, now a non-resident senior fellow with the Center for European Policy Analysis' Transatlantic Defense and Security Program, said that the rebels have the "most capable and sophisticated" air defense array of any non-state actor in the Middle East, thanks to Iranian training, equipping, and assistance. Houthi air defenses include surface-to-air missile systems of varying ranges, and these have reportedly shot down a number of US military MQ-9 Reaper drones, though not any crewed aircraft. Davis said that although it is theoretically possible that a Houthi air defense system could have locked onto an F-35 and fired at the aircraft, it's "highly improbable" that a properly operating jet would be struck. That's because the jet is equipped with advanced electronic warfare and self-protection capabilities, like its AN/ASQ-239 system, that can detect and defeat threats. Also, the pilot would appropriately maneuver in response. "An F-35 would've had to go to great lengths to expose itself enough that any system — whether it be Houthi, or Russian, or Chinese — could actually see it in the air," explained Flynn, the former Canadian commander. "That's almost inconceivable to me."
Business Insider
17-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Trump's talking about a twin-engine F-35. It sounds like this F-55 could be a whole new plane.
Lockheed Martin's F-35 stealth fighter is equipped with the world's most powerful fighter engine. It only has one of them, though, and President Donald Trump wants it to have two. That's no small change. Redesigning an F-35 for twin engines is essentially building a whole new aircraft, a former US Air Force pilot who was involved with the F-35 program told Business Insider. That could take decades and require huge expenditures from an administration that's set on slashing government spending. "The airframe is completely designed around a single engine," explained retired US Air Force Lt. Col. Eric Gunzinger, who worked on the advanced F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter as a program manager for flight simulation test and evaluation. "To put two engines in it would be a complete redesign of not only the hardware and the airframe, but also the software," he said. The plane would need to be larger and could see decreased range. Trump pitched an idea on Thursday for a new twin-engine version of the F-35 that he said he would call the F-55. "The F-35, we're doing an upgrade — a simple upgrade — but we're also doing an F-55. I'm going to call it an F-55," Trump said during a business roundtable in Qatar. He said that the jet would be a "substantial upgrade" with two engines because "I don't like single engines." "We're going to do an F-55" if the price is right, Trump said. "And that will be two engines and a super upgrade on the F-35." The F-35 is a fifth-generation stealth aircraft made by US defense giant Lockheed Martin. It was developed and manufactured as part of a multinational program, and since the first jet rolled off the production line, more than 1,100 have been delivered to the US and militaries overseas. The F-35 stealth fighter is a cornerstone of US airpower, with not just the ability to penetrate contested airspace but also quarterback American combat assets. While some Trump allies have criticized the aircraft over its high costs and questioned its ability to compete with drones, the president appears to be supportive of the program and the plane's prime contractor, as Trump also wants to upgrade the F-22 Raptor. Both the F-35 and the F-22 are receiving upgrades, the most notable for the former being the Block IV upgrades and Tech Refresh 3 expected to deliver significantly improved capabilities. The president's plans appear to be outside of these ongoing efforts on the fifth-gen fighters. In the case of the F-55, it almost certainly amounts to building a new fighter rather than modernizing existing F-35s considering the engineering challenges. Trump's comments came several weeks after Lockheed Martin's CEO James Taiclet said his company would "supercharge" the fighter aircraft and turn it into a "fifth-generation-plus" aircraft with nearly the capabilities of a sixth-generation fighter like the F-47, which will be built by competitor Boeing. The upgraded F-35 could include improved stealth tech and materials, better sensors, and longer-range weapons. The CEO made no mention of a second engine. A twin-engine F-35? More like a new F-55 fighter The F-35's powerful single Pratt & Whitney F135 engine sets it apart from other fifth-generation aircraft like the American F-22 Raptor, the Russian Su-57, and the Chinese J-20 and new J-35, which all have twin engines. The J-35 resembles a twin-engine F-35, at least in appearance. The F-35's lone F135 engine produces a whopping 43,000 pounds of thrust. The F-22's engines are each less powerful, by contrast, but together create 70,000 pounds of thrust. Gunzinger, a former F-111 Ardvaark pilot who served with the US Air Force for over 20 years, said that the F-35 has only one engine because compromises were made during development to ensure that the plane met the needs of multiple services simultaneously. The F-35 comes in three variants: the A for conventional take-off and landing, the B for short take-off and vertical landing, and the C for carrier-based operations. These three variants are generally operated by the Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy, respectively. The Marine-operated F-35B is especially unique because of the lift fan that allows it to land and take off in a hover. A twin-engine F-35B is unlikely considering the daunting technical hurdles to build it. "Technologically, it's a bridge too far to put two engines in an F-35B," Gunzinger said. During his remarks Thursday, Trump said he likes having more engines because there's a backup if one goes out. The only other US single-engine fighters are the F-16 Fighting Falcon and the AV-8B Harrier, the STOVL aircraft the F-35B is replacing. Gunzinger said two engines are, indeed, better than one, pointing to several instances when single-engine aircraft with engine issues wouldn't have been lost had it had a second engine. But the F-35 is a single-engine aircraft through and through. Anything else is a effectively a different plane. Talking about transforming the F-35 into a twin-engine aircraft is "talking about a completely different aircraft" that's years — if not decades — away, Gunzinger said. Unless there's a secret fighter jet program underway in the desert somewhere or it is based on Lockheed's failed bid to build the Next Generation Air Dominance fighter, this idea could mean starting from scratch to create a design with the right aeronautics, carrying capacity, and small radar cross-section. Frank Kendall, who was secretary of the Air Force until late January, told Breaking Defense that "a two-engine version of F-35 would be virtually a complete redesign," adding that the idea is "an option that was never presented and that we never considered." The White House did not provide further details on the F-55, and neither did the Air Force when BI asked. Lockheed Martin would not say whether it has been in discussions with the White House about a twin-engine F-35 or a new F-55. Lockheed said only that it looks forward to working on the administration's "vision for air dominance." Gunzinger said that building both the F-55 and Boeing's NGAD doesn't make sense. "The Air Force really can't afford another major fighter program," he added. "With the current budget and capabilities, you really have to decide on do you want an F-55, which is a brand new aircraft, or do you want the NGAD," another brand new aircraft. And both planes would likely bring similar capabilities to the fight.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump is pitching a new supercharged twin-engine F-35 with a new name: F-55
President Trump on Thursday floated the idea of a supercharged F-35 called the F-55. He said this aircraft would have two engines because he doesn't like single-engine planes. Lockheed Martin's CEO recently suggested upgrading the F-35 to become a "fifth-generation plus" jet. President Donald Trump pitched plans for a new twin-engine version of the F-35 stealth fighter jet on Thursday. He referred to the jet as the "F-55." "The F-35, we're doing an upgrade — a simple upgrade — but we're also doing an F-55. I'm going to call it an F-55," Trump shared during a business roundtable in Qatar, the second stop in his Middle East tour. "That's going to be a substantial upgrade," with two engines, Trump explained, "because an F-35 has a single engine; I don't like single engines." He then touted the four engines on a 747 because there's a backup if an engine goes out. "We're going to do an F-55, I think, if we get the right price — we have to get the right price," the president said. "And that will be two engines and a super upgrade on the F-35." The F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter is a fifth-generation stealth aircraft made by US defense contractor Lockheed Martin. The jet was developed and manufactured as part of a multinational program. Since the first one rolled off the production line, over 1,100 have been delivered to the US and militaries around the world. Some prominent figures inside Trump world have sharply criticized the expensive F-35 program, arguing that it has been a wasteful debacle and unnecessary amid the rise in drone technology, but the president's comments in Qatar on Thursday appear to indicate continued support for the program. The F-35 is considered within the Defense Department to be a cornerstone of US airpower. Last month, Lockheed CEO James Taiclet said that the defense firm would "supercharge" the F-35's capabilities to make it a "fifth-generation plus" aircraft that could bring it nearly on par with a sixth-generation fighter jet. "So, the F-35. So we're basically going to take the chassis and turn it into a Ferrari. It's like a NASCAR upgrade, so to speak," Taiclet said during a first-quarter earnings call. He said that Lockheed could outfit the F-35 with capabilities like better sensors, improved stealth technology, better systems, and longer-range weapons. Taiclet's remarks came shortly after Lockheed lost a bid to build the Next Generation Air Dominance fighter, which Trump named the "F-47," to Boeing. The coming NGAD is expected to fight alongside drones and succeed the F-22 Raptor as the US Air Force's top air superiority fighter. On Thursday, Trump also proposed big upgrades to the F-22, saying the US is going to make an "F-22 Super." Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
15-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Trump is pitching a new supercharged twin-engine F-35 with a new name: F-55
President Trump on Thursday floated the idea of a supercharged F-35 called the F-55. He said this aircraft would have two engines because he doesn't like single-engine planes. Lockheed Martin's CEO recently suggested upgrading the F-35 to become a "fifth-generation plus" jet. President Donald Trump pitched plans for a new twin-engine version of the F-35 stealth fighter jet on Thursday. He referred to the jet as the "F-55." "The F-35, we're doing an upgrade — a simple upgrade — but we're also doing an F-55. I'm going to call it an F-55," Trump shared during a business roundtable in Qatar, the second stop in his Middle East tour. "That's going to be a substantial upgrade," with two engines, Trump explained, "because an F-35 has a single engine; I don't like single engines." He then touted the four engines on a 747 because there's a backup if an engine goes out. "We're going to do an F-55, I think, if we get the right price — we have to get the right price," the president said. "And that will be two engines and a super upgrade on the F-35." The F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter is a fifth-generation stealth aircraft made by US defense contractor Lockheed Martin. The jet was developed and manufactured as part of a multinational program. Since the first one rolled off the production line, over 1,100 have been delivered to the US and militaries around the world. Some prominent figures inside Trump world have sharply criticized the expensive F-35 program, arguing that it has been a wasteful debacle and unnecessary amid the rise in drone technology, but the president's comments in Qatar on Thursday appear to indicate continued support for the program. The F-35 is considered within the Defense Department to be a cornerstone of US airpower. Last month, Lockheed CEO James Taiclet said that the defense firm would "supercharge" the F-35's capabilities to make it a "fifth-generation plus" aircraft that could bring it nearly on par with a sixth-generation fighter jet. "So, the F-35. So we're basically going to take the chassis and turn it into a Ferrari. It's like a NASCAR upgrade, so to speak," Taiclet said during a first-quarter earnings call. He said that Lockheed could outfit the F-35 with capabilities like better sensors, improved stealth technology, better systems, and longer-range weapons. Taiclet's remarks came shortly after Lockheed lost a bid to build the Next Generation Air Dominance fighter, which Trump named the "F-47," to Boeing. The coming NGAD is expected to fight alongside drones and succeed the F-22 Raptor as the US Air Force's top air superiority fighter.
