F-35 less capable than Russian fighter jets: Analyst

Despite being the most expensive weapons project in history, the highly advanced F-35 American fighter jet is less capable than some of Russia’s warplanes, a former official at the US Defense Department says.

“We’re seeing the Russian Sukhoi 34 (35) is far more capable in terms of tactical capabilities than the F-35,” said Michael Maloof, a former senior security policy analyst at the Pentagon.

“They’ve discovered the stealth capability of the F-35 is not foolproof, that there are radar systems being incorporated in other aircraft… that can actually pick up the stealth-like aircraft,” Maloof told Press TV on Sunday.

According to some Western news organizations, Russia’s Sukhoi Su-35 is considered as the most dangerous fighter jet in the world today, without taking into account the US fifth-generation warplane F-22 Raptor, which contains technology from the F-35.

The US Defense Department has warned that the F-35 fighter program, which is undergoing final development, remains plagued by dangerous problems.

The report, prepared by the Pentagon’s director of operational test and evaluation, raises serious questions about whether the US military should risk committing itself to buying billions of dollars of the F-35s before they have demonstrated they are fit for combat.

The fifth-generation stealth warplanes, which are being built in three different versions by Lockheed Martin Corp, will form the backbone of the us military's future fighter fleet.

Pentagon officials have acknowledged that a decision at the outset to start building the fighter jet before testing was finished has caused difficulties, including repeated repairs, redesign work, slowing down production and raising costs.

The F-35 is the highest costing weapon in history, with an estimated overall cost of $1.3 trillion. The Pentagon plans to purchase a total of 2,443 of the jets.

Nine other countries, including Britain, Canada, Italy and Turkey are helping pay for the jet's development and are buying hundreds of the jets.

“The cost overruns on this are stunning,” Maloof said. “One person I’ve spoken to about the F-35 has said it’s so bad and so serious…that our allies may actually resort to other capabilities because they now lack air superiority.”

“He doesn’t rule out the possibility they may look into other methods of weapons of mass destruction as an alternative because will not have that air superiority that they were banking on when they invested in the F-35,” Maloof added.

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