American F-35 fighter pilots are not always able to detect Russian air defense systems. writes about it Air Force Times.
According to the publication’s material, in 2022, the US Air Force deployed F-35 fighter jets to the eastern flank of NATO for testing in flight conditions near the Russian borders. Fighters flew over the Kaliningrad region, trying to open the Russian air defense system. However, it turned out that the F-35 would not be able to locate the S-300 complex if “digital evasion equipment” was working on it. It was noted that in this case, the pilot could visually see the complex.
Formerly U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General Michael Schmidt declarationHalf of the F-35 warplanes are unable to perform training, test and combat flights. Schmidt said that as of February, the average monthly duty readiness rate of fighters in the US fleet, which consists of more than 540 F-35s, is 53.1%.