The F-35′s rearward visibility is limited. Photo: Lockheed Martin
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the military’s expensive main warplane of the future, has a huge blind spot directly behind it. Pilots say that could get them shot down in close-quarters combat, where the flier with the better visibility has the killing advantage.
“Aft visibility could turn out to be a significant problem for all F-35 pilots in the future,” the Pentagon acknowledged in a report (.pdf) obtained by the Project on Government Oversight, a Washington, D.C. watchdog group.
That admission should not come as a surprise to observers of the Joint Strike Fighter program. Critics of the delayed, over-budget F-35 — which is built in three versions for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps — have been trying for years to draw attention to the plane’s blind spot, only to be dismissed by the government and Lockheed Martin, the Joint Strike Fighter’s primary builder.
Have they thought of a rear view mirror?
The F-35 is meant more for use as an attack jet, to bomb enemy civilians and ground troops alike. The jet is similar to the A-7 once used as a light bomber. The F-22 or the F-18 could act as an escort for the F-35 during an attack mission.
lets bring back the turret gunner!