INTRODUCTION

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II which is a single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole fighters is UNDERGOING FINAL DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING by the United States.

The pentagon began the F 35 program in 2001 with an aim to develop a cost effective replacement for the u.s. military’s f-15 fighters, f-16 and f-18 bombers and reconnaissance aircraft, and a-10 close air support warplanes.

Apart from United States,the primary customer and financial backer, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Turkey, Australia, Norway and Denmark are also part of the program. Many other nations like Japan and Israel are also deploying the fighters.

The nine major partner nations, including the U.S, plan to acquire over 3,000 F-35s through 2035, which, if delivered will make the F-35 one of the most numerous jet fighters. The fighter aircraft will be in service till 2050. On 2 August 2016, the U.S. Air Force declared its first squadron of F-35A fighters combat-ready.



S 400 Triumph is an anti-aircraft weapon system developed by Russia's Almaz Central Design bureau in the 1990s as an upgrade of the s-300 family. it has been in service with the Russian armed forces since 2007.
It is designed to defend against aircrafts including 5th generation stealth fighters ,bombers, awacs, cruise missiles and ballistic missile.
It is considered one of the most power anti aircraft defense system in the world.


In this video Defense Updates analyze the outcome when F 35 is pitted against S 400



SPECIFICATIONS

Here is a list of specifications of F 35 and S 400 respectively.


OPTIONS

In a combat environment , F 35 has the following options to defeat S 400.

1. OUT RUN
2. OUT MANEUVER A MISSILE
3. STEALTH TO AVOID DETECTION
4. USE EW SUIT TO JAM S 400
5. LONG RANGE PREEMPTIVE STANDOFF STRIKE


We will analyze each of these one by one and rate the chances F 35 against S 400 on a scale of 1 to 5.



OUT RUN


But in case of F 35 , the tactics will be useless since it has a top speed of only 1.6 mach and missiles deployed by s 400 have hypersonic speeds ranging from 6 Mach to 14 Mach.

For example, 40N6 missile has a speed of 14 Mach.


OUT MANEUVER

F 35 is not designed to be a great dogfighter and lacks agility when compared to fighters like F 22 or SU 35.
The need for the small F 35 to carry a heavy range of internal engines, fuel and weapons has resulted in what aviation experts labels a ‘high wing loading’. essentially, the wings are small in relation to its weight and this impedes maneuverability.

F 35 also has a sluggish rate of climb when compared to modern fighters.



STEALTH

The trump card of F 35 against any air defense system is that , it is a stealthy aircraft.
But F 35’s simplified airframe is far less of the ‘shaped stealth’ found in the F 22. This implies a much greater reliance on radar-absorbing materials.

* Against x-band radars, it is only stealthy (lo) from front and rear;
* Against s-band radar, it is stealthy from narrow front aspect,
* Against l-band radar. limited reduction is achieved from direct front


The nabob svn & zebu m have a claimed capability against stealth aircraft.
Keeping in view the different aspects, F 35 will be vulnerable in a combat scenario.


EM SUIT

All three variants of the F 35 carry Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars with sophisticated electronic attack capabilities, including false targets, network attack, advanced jamming and algorithm-packed data streams. This system allows the F 35 to reach well-defended targets and suppress enemy radars that threaten the F 35.


LONG RANGE PREEMPTIVE STANDOFF STRIKE


S 400 is designed to be mobile.
All system components are carried by self-propelled wheeled all-terrain chassis.

Even if detected, S 400 will be a very very tough nut to crack.
Just one S 400 system can control up to 72 launchers, with a maximum of 384 missiles.
This means that system has enough ammunition & targeting strength to take down a saturation attack.Also an important aspect is that for aerodynamic target and ballistic targets, the minimum engagement range is only 2 and 5 km respectively .


A separate independent air defense system 42S6 Morfey , is being developed by Russia’s Almaz-Antey corporation.
This system is designated as short-range air defense system, and will protect the s-400 from various threats at their terminal phases.


CONCLUSION

As per our analysis, F 35 will find it difficult to operate in areas protected by S 400. This means the not only us but the partner nations will find it hard to gain air supremacy, which is vital in modern conflicts.

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