A top US Navy officer thinks that one of the F-35's most hyped capabilities is 'overrated'

http://www.businessinsider.com/naval-head-stealth-may-be-overrated-2015-2


A Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35C Joint Strike Fighter is shown on the deck of the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier after making the plane's first ever carrier landing using its tailhook system, off the coast of California, November 3, 2014.


Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jon Greenert outlined in a speech last week what the Navy would hope to see in a next-generation strike aircraft. Tellingly, Greenert's ideal bears little resemblance to the trillion-dollar F-35, as David Larter reports for the Navy Times.

For instance, the most senior naval officer in the US Navy said that "stealth may be overrated," a statement that could interpreted as a swipe at the troubled F-35.

"What does that next strike fighter look like?" Greenert said during the speech in Washington. "I'm not sure it's manned, don't know that it is. You can only go so fast, and you know that stealth may be overrated ... Let's face it, if something moves fast through the air, disrupts molecules and puts out heat — I don't care how cool the engine can be, it's going to be detectable. You get my point."

Greenert's has a long-standing skepticism of stealth, which he believes will not be able to keep up with advances in radar technology. In 2012, Greenert wrote that "t is time to consider shifting our focus from platforms that rely solely on stealth to also include concepts for operating farther from adversaries using standoff weapons and unmanned systems — or employing electronic-warfare payloads to confuse or jam threat sensors rather than trying to hide from them."



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