Britain 'should consider scrapping F-35 stealth fighter'

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/10838453/Britain-should-consider-scrapping-F-35-stealth-fighter.html



A senior US Air Force officer says Britain's new stealth jet may be no better than existing aircraft

Britain 'should consider scrapping F-35 stealth fighter'
By Bn Farmer, Defence Correspondent
6:00AM BST 18 May 2014

~snip~

The analysis in the Air and Space Power Journal states: “Even if funding were unlimited, reasons might still exist for terminating the F-35.

“Specifically, its performance has not met initial requirements, its payload is low, its range is short, and espionage efforts by the People’s Republic of China may have compromised the aircraft long in advance of its introduction.”

Advances in Russian and Chinese radar defences mean it is not clear the stealth technology will still work, the analysis warns.

“These facts make the risk calculation involved with prioritizing stealth over performance, range, and weapons load out inherently suspect - and the F-35 might well be the first modern fighter to have substantially less performance than its predecessors.”