Only one week of Donald Trump’s termination of aid to Ukraine was enough for the credibility of the United States as a partner and ally to go into cracks, in which the awareness of the critical dependence of one’s own security on the whims of only one person grew abundantly.
And against this background, there is talk that the American fifth-generation F-35 fighter can be turned off remotely on command from Washington. Initially, this topic was raised in Canada, which Trump threatens to make a US state, and after the termination of aid to Ukraine, it was raised in Germany.
At the same time, the European edition Aviationist collected the opinions of Western experts on this topic. In particular, what News Hub previously wrote about Canada’s fears, in the critical dependence of the F-35 on updating “mission data” from the American 350th Spectrum Warfare Group, was not only confirmed, but also expanded.
As it turned out, mission data is not just a set of information, signatures and algorithms to counter enemy fighter radars and air defense systems. This is a very important part of ensuring the stealth of the F-35. The fighter uses the Mission Data File (MDF), which is essentially an electronic instruction for combat, in particular, it ensures the correct construction of the flight path with minimal visibility on the radar. He also controls the aircraft’s communications to ensure concealment and from radio reconnaissance equipment.
That is, this “mission data” is a very important component of ensuring the F-35’s stealth technology, no less important element than a special coating or uniform. And such MDF updates are “necessary”, “fast” and “frequent”. And without these MDFs, the real combat capability of the F-35 will be seriously reduced.
In addition, without a general software update to the F-35, and not just the MDF, the aircraft as a whole will begin to degrade. A very apt analogy is given – it’s like the smartphone will stop receiving updates.
Initially, it will work as before, but it will no longer receive new features, it will be impossible to install new applications on it, and security will not be so stable. And in the end, over time, it will only be possible to call and write SMS, that is, it would work, but not in the way that is expected of it.
Also, of course, the dependence on obtaining American components was mentioned. At the same time, a feature of the maintenance of the F-35 is the digital logistics process control systems ALIS, which is replaced by ODIN.
It is worth noting that as of 2024, excluding the American F-35s, there were more than 300 of these fifth-generation fighters. But the existing foreign orders for them cover a volume of about 800 aircraft, of which about 500 F-35s are intended for European countries.