Debate Surrounds Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II
Opinions are sharply divided regarding Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II. Some herald it as an unparalleled weaponry marvel, while others label it an $80 million debacle that is perilously delicate, even unable to withstand precipitation or its namesake’s lightning.
However, Dutch Defense Secretary Gijs Tuinman asserts that its security features are akin to “jailbreaking an iPhone.”
In a revealing discussion on the Danish podcast Boekestijn en De Wijk show, translated by the Register, Tuinman speculated that European militaries could independently maintain the exorbitantly priced F-35s, regardless of U.S. support.
“The F-35 is indeed a collaborative product,” Tuinman remarked. The British manufacture the Rolls-Royce engines, which the Americans require as well. Even if this interdependence does not yield continuous software updates, the F-35, as it currently stands, outperforms other fighter variants.”
He further elaborated, “If you desire upgrades amidst these circumstances—though I acknowledge this may be contentious—I assert you can jailbreak an F-35 just like an iPhone.”
While Tuinman refrained from further clarification, his remarks hint at an underlying trepidation regarding the dynamic between U.S. defense contractors like Lockheed and European military forces.
According to the Register, the F-35 Lightning II receives regular software enhancements from Lockheed via a proprietary Automatic Logistics Information System, which disseminates updates across the fleet biannually. (Consider it an expensive parallel to an iOS update.)
Although European nations may physically possess the aircraft, the U.S. retains dominion over the software landscape.
Should Washington opt to withhold updates—perhaps in retaliation for trade disputes or geopolitical disagreements—there exists an implicit threat: the Dutch air force might find itself stranded with exorbitant, non-functional jets.
While no evidence suggests Tuinman has discovered an elusive hacking method for the F-35, the complexity of jailbreaking a fighter jet is undoubtedly fraught with challenges.
Nonetheless, with apprehensions growing among European nations about the U.S. potentially possessing the capability to remotely incapacitate European fleets via a “kill switch,” it may be prudent for the Netherlands to start deciphering the F-35’s intricacies.
Source link: Futurism.com.
