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The wild upgrades to the F-35 pitched by the designer of the YF-23

Vladimir Putin appeared rattled by Donald Trump's military jet flyover after the two leaders shook hands for the first time in six years today during a historic moment in Alaska. A B2 bomber and four F-35 figher jets flew above Putin and Trump as they walked to the US president's motorcade - a symbolic ride together into one of the most high-stakes diplomatic showdowns in decades. The Russian leader appeared shocked as the jets took off, pausing his walk to look up overhead.

While the U.S. F-35 and F-22 may be qualitatively superior, China’s ability to mass-produce its J-20 stealth fighter presents a grave quantitative threat. China’s “offset strategy with Chinese characteristics” focuses on overwhelming the limited number of American fifth-generation jets with a massive fleet of J-20s.

Spain has formally ruled out buying US-made F-35 fighter jets, opting instead to expand its fleet of Eurofighter Typhoons and invest in the Franco-German Future Combat Air System (FCAS). The move reflects both strategic and political divergence from Washington, especially amid renewed pressure from Donald Trump over NATO spending. .. Why the F-35 lost out Spain’s pivot is part of a wider rethink in Europe. The F-35 programme, long plagued by soaring costs, software delays, and mechanical issues, is losing ground. Recent operational mishaps, including a British F-35B grounded in India and a US Navy crash in California, haven’t helped....

Air superiority is no longer just a matter of the capabilities of individual aircraft. It’s a question of posture, doctrine, and overall warfighting infrastructure. And in that domain, the contest is no longer so lopsided. The West can no longer take comfort in its F-35 fleet. The J-20 has evolved into its operational equal—if not its superior.

As India retires its last legendary MiG-21 fighters, its air force is shrinking to a historic low of just 29 squadrons, falling dangerously behind a rapidly expanding China. To counter this, New Delhi faces a critical and long-delayed decision for its next 5th-generation fighter. The choice is a high-stakes geopolitical dilemma: the combat-proven but expensive American F-35, or Russia’s Su-57, which offers local production but is seen as a “huge bet” on a “dying” and unreliable defense industry.

In a historic pivot, the Pentagon is reportedly halving its planned purchase of F-35 stealth fighters, signaling a significant shift in U.S. airpower strategy. The move is a long-overdue break from a history of bad procurement choices, like rejecting the superior YF-23. Many would argue the F-35 is a vulnerable “procurement Frankenstein,” unsuited for a future war with China or Russia.

While the F-35 is a capable 5th-generation fighter, it is a transitional “stopgap” that is becoming increasingly vulnerable to the evolving threats from China and Russia. To maintain air dominance, the U.S. must rapidly develop the 6th-generation F-47. The F-47 is envisioned not just as a faster, stealthier fighter, but as a “quarterback” for the entire battlespace, orchestrating drones, cyber operations, and other assets.

Key Points and Summary on Canada and F-35 – After a quarter-century of debate, Canada is in the final, critical phase of deciding the future of its F-35 fighter jet program. A comprehensive government review, expected by the end of summer 2025, will determine whether the nation proceeds with the full purchase of 88 stealth fighters.

Canada’s planned purchase of 88 F-35 stealth fighters is in jeopardy following a damning report from Auditor General Karen Hogan that revealed the program’s cost has ballooned by nearly 50% to C$27.7 billion.

Beginning June 13, 2025, Operation Rising Lion has centered around the capabilities of Israel’s largely U.S.-made air forces. F-16s, F-35s and the venerable F-15s have opened up the skies over Iran. That enabled a complex campaign targeting Iran’s air defenses, nuclear sites, ballistic missile and drone production, and some of Iran’s mobile missile launchers. Israel has used precision weapons ranging from the satellite-guided JDAM to the newer Small Diameter Bomb.

Summary and Key Points: The nearly $9 billion cost increase for Canada’s F-35 acquisition, bringing the total to $27.7 billion, is not the real scandal; it is a symptom of a deeper “strategy shock.” According to a recent Auditor-General’s report, this “sticker shock” is less concerning than the fact that Canada lacks a coherent plan to support the jets. Key basing infrastructure for the F-35s will not be ready until 2029, years after the first jets arrive in 2026, and the Royal Canadian Air Force already faces a severe pilot shortage, raising serious questions about the nation’s ability to operate...

Over the years, Israel has requested the chance to become the F-22 Raptor’s sole foreign operator. While the F-35 Lightning II fighter is often considered to be the best of its kind in service today, another American-made fifth-generation jet, the F-22 Raptor, may have surpassed it. The older F-22 Raptor features all the latest and greatest features. The platform’s unmatched stealth, impressive speed, and sophisticated avionics and sensors makes the F-22 arguably the most coveted fighter series across the globe. Israel is perhaps the Raptor’s biggest fan. Surrounded by hostile adversaries and currently embroiled in a multi-front war against Iran,...

WASHINGTON — In keeping with his penchant for shocking the defense industry, President Donald Trump today seemingly revealed plans to develop a twin-engine version of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter known as the F-55, as well as an upgraded “F-22 Super.”But former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said he was “mystified by Trump’s comments,” and analysts said that what the president described would be a highly challenging engineering endeavor on par with creating a clean-sheet aircraft. They also questioned the wisdom of spending scarce budget dollars on a twin-engine advanced F-35 when the newly announced F-47 is already planned to...

The Royal Navy's flagship HMS Prince of Wales has departed on one of its biggest deployments yet. The £3bn aircraft carrier set off from Portsmouth and will take part in exercises demonstrating the UK's ability to operate fast jets at sea, and carry out large scale military operations on the other side of the world. Up to 24 of the latest F-35B stealth jets will join the carrier as it leads a multi-national fleet of warships to 40 countries across the Mediterranean, Middle East, south-east Asia, Japan and Australia. The 65,000-tonne warship, which can hold up to 1,600 military personnel,...

A dark mass of clouds hung low over North Charleston as Marine Col. Charles "Tre" Del Pizzo began his descent. It was a Sunday afternoon, late September 2023. Del Pizzo's hands were on the control stick and throttle of an F-35B Lightning II, the U.S. military’s most advanced stealth fighter, a $136 million supercomputer with wings. The F-35B can hover like a helicopter, and Del Pizzo planned to use that technology to land. Del Pizzo had just finished a training sortie over the Atlantic with a second F-35B pilot, practicing tactics at upwards of 500 mph at seven times the...

WASHINGTON — Boeing has won an Air Force contract to develop the first ever sixth-generation fighter, dubbed the F-47, which is seen as critical to maintaining America’s air supremacy over China, President Donald Trump announced today.The aerospace giant’s victory in the Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program is a game-changer for Boeing, whose defense business has suffered billions of dollars in losses in recent years stemming from a series of ill-performing fixed-price contracts. In particular, the win gives Boeing the opportunity to build a new fighter jet at a time when its F/A-18 line is nearing closure, a...

* Canada is reviewing its contract with Lockheed Martin for F-35 fighter jets, the country's Defense Minister said. * The review comes amid rising tensions between Ottawa and Washington. * It comes after Portugal said it was also reconsidering purchasing the jet. Canada is reviewing its contract with US defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin to purchase F-35 fighter jets, its defense minister said on Friday. Speaking to CBC, Bill Blair said he had spoken with newly appointed Prime Minister Mark Carney and that they were now looking at "other alternatives" to the F-35. "It was the fighter jet identified by our...

Portugal won't buy Lockheed Martin F-35s from the United States though the country's air force gave a go-ahead for that. The country now wants to take into account other situational aspects and President Donald Trump is one of them. Citing Portuguese media Publico, Politico reported that outgoing defence minister Nuno Melo shot down the proposal of buying F-35s from the US because of Donald Trump. “We cannot ignore the geopolitical environment in our choices. The recent position of the United States, in the context of NATO ... must make us think about the best options, because the predictability of our...

Canada has ordered 88 F-35A fighters for $14.5 billion, and now they are really discussing whether the Pentagon can press a special button and turn all those aircraft into scrap metal if necessary The fear of being left unarmed and defenseless against armed aggression is exactly what the Trumpists have sown among their allies with their latest actions. Canadians, who have repeatedly heard threats from Donald Trump about the "51st U.S. state" and face the tariff war unleashed by Washington, have become anxious about their security. So, Canadian expert circles have expressed concerns about the ongoing acquisition of American F-35...