The US military’s most expensive fighter jet, the F-35 entered service in 2015 but reportedly still faces a whole array of issues that could either put the lives of pilots at risk or jeopardise missions.
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has asserted that the state-of-the-art F-35 US warplane “would have no chance against” a remote-controlled unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
The remark came after Lee Hudson, Pentagon editor for Aviation Week magazine, cited Musk as saying during a recent United States Air Force (USAF) conference that the fighter jet era has passed.
When asked during the USAF conference whether he had “any innovative ideas about how aerial combat could be revolutionised”, Musk prompted “murmurs and laughter” by arguing it’s already pointless to talk the “fighter jet era”, according to Defence News.
As far as the F-35 fighter jet is concerned, this fifth-generation stealth fighter jet is believed to be the most expensive warplane in history, with the budget for the plane’s programme surpassing $1 trillion.
Even so, the aircraft reportedly continues to face more than a dozen issues that could put the lives of pilots at risk. Documents obtained by Defence News indicate that some F-35 pilots, particular, experience cabin pressure spikes which give them ear and sinus pain, while the jet receives structural damage at speeds beyond Mach 1.2 and has problems operating in areas with cold weather.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
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