- Russia’s war against Ukraine has shown what aerial warfare looks like over a modern battlefield.
- Neither side has the F-35, but it’s designed for that environment, said former test pilot Billie Flynn.
- F-35s have “capabilities that are very focused on what we saw in Ukraine,” Flynn said.
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As the war in Ukraine approaches its third month, neither Russia nor Ukraine have been able to dominate the air as both still have operational surface-to-air missile batteries and aircraft.
This makes the war in Ukraine unique among recent conflicts and provides useful lessons about how modern airframes would function in contested airspace.
In an April 7 interview with The Aviationist, Billie Flynn, a former Canadian lieutenant colonel and senior F-35 test pilot for Lockheed Martin, highlighted the role the F-35 could play in similar conditions.
“The F-35 was designed precisely for an environment that we are now seeing in Ukraine,” Flynn said.
The new generation
A US Air Force F-35A over RAF Lakenheath, March 22, 2022. US Air Force/Staff Sgt. Dhruv Gopinath
The Lockheed Martin-built F-35 is one of two fifth-generation fighter jets deployed by the United States, along with the F-22 Raptor, and one of four in service worldwide. China’s J-20 went into mass production in late 2021 and hasn’t seen combat. Russia’s Su-57 has not entered mass production and has only been used in a few limited missions in Syria.
The F-35 is a multi-role stealth aircraft intended for air superiority and attack missions.
It is equipped with powerful electronic warfare and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. These capabilities, which allow the F-35 to gather real-time battlefield information and disseminate it to friendly forces, have earned it the nickname “Quarterback of the Air”.
The weapons it carries vary. In a configuration known as “Beast Mode”, it carries four 500-pound GBU-12 laser-guided bombs on its wings, two GBU-12s in its internal weapons bay, and an AIM-9 air-to-air heat seeker missile . This configuration sacrifices stealth for firepower.
In stealth mode, the jet dispenses with externally mounted weapons to maintain its unobtrusive profile.
There are three variants of the F-35. The F-35A is designed for conventional takeoff and landing, the F-35B for short takeoff and vertical landing, and the F-35C for aircraft carrier operations.
A souped-up team
A U.S. Air Force B-52H bomber and Italian Air Force F-35 bomber on a training flight, March 7, 2022 U.S. Air Force/Tech. Sergeant Corban Lundborg
In a contested airspace, the survivability of older fourth-generation fighter jets, like the ubiquitous F-16, will be limited, Flynn told The Aviationist.
F-16s are “not viable in the very competitive world” like in Ukraine, where there are “a significant number of sophisticated surface-to-air threats,” Flynn said.
However, the F-35’s ability to augment the capabilities of friendly aircraft is precisely what would make it invaluable in a similar conflict, Flynn said.
“The F-35 was designed to operate in highly contested airspace, with capabilities precisely aligned with what we saw in Ukraine today. If you have F-35s, you don’t necessarily need F-16s to do the damage that F-35s would do,” said the former F-35 test pilot.
The F-35 would be particularly effective against surface-to-air missile systems and other ground defense systems, neutralizing them and enemy aircraft to achieve air supremacy.
US Air Force F-35s at Ämari Air Force Base in Estonia, Feb. 24, 2022. US Air Force
The aircraft’s stealth profile will be one of its main advantages.
“Remember,” Flynn said, “we see them, they don’t see us. It’s like playing football when one team is invisible and the other team doesn’t have much advantage on behalf of the F-35. F-35 would see.” All enemy air-to-air threats and kill them all, and completely neutralize the surface-to-air missile threat to achieve air dominance.
Once air dominance is achieved, aircraft like the F-16 can provide additional firepower against enemy ground forces, but even then the F-35 is needed to protect them, Flynn says.
The F-35 could also perform close air support missions for troops on the ground. When friendly ground forces are in close contact with the enemy, however, the F-35 may need to use its less advanced armament and take more risks to do so.
“There may come a time when the troops will make contact and you will come down and use the gun in the F-35,” Flynn said. “It’s a big risk for an $80 million F-35, but our job is to protect troops on the ground.”
fly alone
A U.S. Air Force F-35A without radar reflectors over Eastern Europe, Feb. 28, 2022. U.S. Air Force/Airman 1st Class Edgar Grimaldo
The US has repeatedly stated that it will not become a combatant in Ukraine.
F-35s have flown stealth missions near Ukraine’s borders, although it’s not clear if they were conducting regular patrols to deter Russia, or using their electronic capabilities to monitor forces in and around Ukraine.
Still, according to Flynn, their presence so close to the conflict zone has had an impact.
That this jet flies along NATO’s eastern flank “is a significant deterrent” to Russian forces, which “continue their ambitions to push further east.” Because the F-35s pose an exceptional deadly threat,” Flynn said.
The F-35’s “ability to neutralize the enemy cannot be matched by any other aircraft flying in someone else’s air force,” Flynn said. “Just the fact that the F-35s are there scares everyone on the other side.”
Constantine Atlamazoglou works on transatlantic and European security. He holds a Master’s degree in Security Studies and European Affairs from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.