I took months off to work on other projects and catch up on other business.

I’m back.

The F35 continues to be the gift that keeps on grifting. The F35B and C models are the Marine Corps Short Takeoff/Vertical Landing (STOVL) and US Navy aircraft respectively. Both the B and C models have had their challenges due to the very different takeoff requirements and the concomitant engineering challenges to meet that. And keep in mind all of this expense and reduction in capability to have a stealth capability means nothing in modern peer combat for toose countries that have long wave radar which can detect stealth.

Low-frequency radars, operating in the VHF (30 to 300 MHz) and UHF (300 MHz to 1 GHz) bands, use wavelengths that are much longer than the size of fighter aircraft. In this range, geometric stealth loses its effectiveness.

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A conventional radar is called monostatic: the transmitter and receiver are in the same place. Stealth aircraft are optimized for this geometry. The waves are reflected at precise angles to avoid direct return.

Multistatic or bistatic systems separate these components: the receiver is sometimes offset by several kilometers. This geometry eliminates the need to optimize the radar angle and allows secondary returns that are normally absorbed or deflected to be detected.

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Doppler radar analyzes not only the returning wave, but also its frequency variation caused by the target’s movement (the Doppler effect). This method is effective for filtering out stationary targets (ground, clouds, mountains) and isolating moving ones.

The money spent for what is necessarily a very niche and boutique capability has rendered these aircraft extraordinarily expensive with severely reduced military efficacy.

If you look at the CBO report, there is a steep age gradient downgrade in availability and reliability for the very expensive bird.

What is very disturbing is this particular graph which shows the premature aging and lowered availability rates for USMC F35Bs. This does not bode well for future usage.

If interested in further explcation, check out the document cited below.

https://www.cbo.gov/publication/61482

Per radar vulnerability, see this: https://www.flyajetfighter.com/how-radars-detect-stealth-aircraft-today/