Reports Ukraine could soon be unable to properly use its US-supplied F-16 fighter jets have left Europeans concerned the same could happen to them

Summary

European nations refute claims that the U.S. has a “kill switch” for F-35 fighter jets, despite concerns raised after Trump suspended military aid and intelligence support to Ukraine.

While no evidence confirms such a switch, experts warn the U.S. could limit access to crucial software updates.

Belgium and Switzerland assert their F-35s remain autonomous but acknowledge reliance on U.S. data systems.

Set to receive 35 F-35s in 2026, some German politicians are questioning whether the purchase should have been made amid these concerns.

  • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    30·
    1 month ago

    Whether or not a “kill switch” exists is frankly rather immaterial. The fact remains that we control a LOT of the essential tech that goes into those things, and considering we’re basically turning into an adversary towards most of our former allies, it’s not a super great idea to have us be a core part of your logistics pipeline - especially when it comes to one of your most advanced strike fighter.

    Sure, it’s great tech… but what happens when Trump decides in 6 months to stop shipping engines and engine parts and software updates and encryption keys and the myriad of little doodads that go into the thing? That’s right: it’ll stop working quite as well as it’s designed to, and ultimately will need to be grounded until operators can find a side-channel to get the things it needs (or replacement/aftermarket parts + software, though frankly I don’t think the second part is feasible, knowing the ludicrous size of the codebase that is absolutely for sure NOT something that can be easily or quickly replicated).

    • mkwt@lemmy.worldEnglish
      22·
      1 month ago

      F35 is a major maintenance time sink. Something on the order of 10 mechanic-hours of maintenance for every flight hour. I’ve heard it costs something like 12k USD in maintenance just to start the engine and bring it to low idle.

      I suspect it would take a lot less than six months to ground a fleet when the spare parts get cut off.

      • dlatch@lemmy.worldEnglish
        5·
        1 month ago

        Spare parts are being manufactured in Europe too though. There’s a big maintenance hub in The Netherlands and Italy is producing complete F35s. I’m sure Europe can figure it out if when the US goes completely off the rails.

      • atzanteol@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        3·
        1 month ago

        My understanding is that it’s because it’s new and they haven’t optimized repair workflows yet (or hadn’t at the time all that reporting was being done).