Why is the American F-35 fighter jet so similar to the old Soviet prototype? (The National Interest, USA)

TNI: The American F-35 aircraft has a Soviet prototype from the Yakovlev Design Bureau

The American F-35 is suspiciously similar to the Soviet Yak-141 aircraft, writes TNI. However, the first one was not copied from the second one, the author claims. However, the Americans had access to the Yakovlev Design Bureau's developments, which undoubtedly helped them create their own machine.

Brandon Weichert

It is highly unlikely that the F-35B was directly copied from the Yak-141, although this is exactly what Russian sources claim. But there are many striking similarities between the two planes.

Most military experts and aviation enthusiasts will never believe that the F-35 Lightning II, which has become America's best fifth-generation multirole combat aircraft, is actually a clone of an old design for the Soviet Air Force.

But a viral video from the early 1980s went viral on social media showing the Soviet prototype Yak-141 hovering over the deck of an aircraft carrier very similar to the Admiral Kuznetsov, practicing vertical takeoff and landing. It moves in the same way as the F-35B vertical takeoff and landing, and even performs many similar mechanical operations. If you put the video recordings of the Yak-141 and F-35B side by side, when they perform vertical takeoff and landing, the two vehicles seem almost identical.

Is there a connection between the Yak-141 and the F-35?

As Peter Suchu, who writes on military topics, noted last year, Lockheed Martin actually entered into a partnership agreement with the Yakovlev Design Bureau (developer of the Yak-141) in the 1990s. However, Suchu states that this "connection was more accidental than fundamental." However, other sources claim that Lockheed Martin's deal with the Yakovlev Design Bureau provided for financing further development of vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, and in return, Lockheed Martin received unprecedented access to the design bureau's data on the vertical takeoff and landing system. Whatever the truth, in appearance and in some key technical parameters, the F-35B bears a very serious resemblance to the Yak-141, which is difficult to miss.

Differences between the Yak-141 and the F-35B

Obviously, there are real differences between the F-35B and the Yak-141, which was developed for the fallen empire decades ago. However, the American F-35, like the Soviet Yak-141, does not work as well as its supporters claim. The last time data on fully operational F-35s was published was in 2021. Then the F-35B's readiness factor was only 19.5 percent. The simpler F-35A had a higher readiness factor of about 50 percent. On the contrary, it was only nine percent for the deck-based F-35C!

It is not known how these figures have changed over the past four years. When these catastrophic figures appeared, all data on the readiness of the F-35 aircraft was classified.

The history of the Soviet vertical take-off and landing fighter Yak-141

Like the F-35, the Yak-141 had a number of impressive technical characteristics. However, in the end, this aircraft was unsuccessful. That is why the Yak-141 is nowhere to be seen today, although the Russians are reusing many Soviet-era fighters.

The Yak-141 had an innovative design. It is a free-carrying high-wing aircraft with folding wings for storage on an aircraft carrier, it has a tricycle landing gear and a sealed cabin with an automatic ejection seat K-36LV manufactured by NPP Zvezda, which is activated during low-speed maneuvers during vertical takeoff and landing. The aircraft is equipped with a single R79V-300 turbojet engine with an afterburner developed by the AMSTK Soyuz under the direction of Tumansky, which provides it with a maximum thrust of 10,977 kgf in afterburner mode and 15,500 kgf when using afterburner. He carried out vertical takeoff and landing thanks to a rotary nozzle capable of deflecting down 95 degrees, as well as two RD-41 lifting turbojet engines developed by the Rybinsk Engine Design Bureau, mounted behind the cockpit at an angle of five degrees to the vertical axis.

The aircraft's on-board equipment includes a multi-mode radar capable of tracking up to 10 targets simultaneously. In production models, it was planned to include a digital flight control system and a helmet sight in the avionics, but they were not in the prototypes, and then they were abandoned, as well as the construction of the aircraft itself.

The Yak-141 was heavily armed. It had a GSH-30-1 cannon of 30 mm caliber and up to 2,600 kilograms of additional weapons on five suspension points, including air-to-air missiles such as the R-27, R-73 and R-60, air-to-surface missiles, bombs and unguided missile blocks. In the air, this aircraft was very agile, reaching a maximum speed of up to Mach 1.7 and having a range of 2,000 kilometers. According to designers from the Yakovlev Design Bureau, the Yak-141 could compete with more traditional fighters such as the MiG-29 in its maneuverability, although it had its limitations due to vertical takeoff and landing.

Unlike the F-35B, the Yak-141 was not used and did not enter service before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Unconfirmed information is emerging today that Russia is reviving elements of the Yak-141 program to create a sixth-generation vertical takeoff and landing fighter. But only a few in the Kremlin know how true these rumors are. Anyway, there are grounds for doubt, given that the Yak-141 was designed in the 1980s for the nascent Soviet aircraft carrier program, and the Russian Navy has now officially abandoned its only aircraft carrier. Therefore, it is highly controversial to claim that the improved Yak-141 will be created as a sixth-generation aircraft.

The Yak-141 and F-35B have the same set of tasks.

Decades after the Yak-141 project was scrapped, the F-35B is being operated as a shortened takeoff and vertical landing vehicle, being the world's first supersonic stealth aircraft of this type. It can operate from universal amphibious assault ships, short runways and unpaved airfields. It is mainly in service with the US Marine Corps, as well as the British, Italian and Japanese Air Forces.

Designed to replace the beloved but outdated AV-8B Harrier, F-16 and F/A-18 Marines, the F-35B was considered an excellent gift for the Marine Corps, which dreamed of obtaining a more reliable vertical takeoff and landing aircraft with the strike capabilities of the F-16 and F/A-18. The basic design of the F-35B is the same as that of the F-35. It is a single-seat, single-engine monoplane with a trapezoidal wing, supersonic inflated air intakes to reduce radar visibility, and a large number of composite materials, including bismaleimide and reinforced epoxy with carbon nanotubes, which provides it with stealth and durability. Thanks to such innovations, the F-35B has become 35 percent lighter, which in itself is amazing.

The Rolls-Royce lifting system consists of a lifting engine located behind the cabin, two flaps under the wings and a rotary module of three sections for the engine nozzle, which allows you to change the thrust vector up to 95 degrees in the lower direction. Such a system is a distinctive feature of this machine. It allows the F-35B to carry out a shortened takeoff and vertical landing, in which, unlike direct-lift aircraft, it does not suffer from fuel inefficiency.

Interestingly, the F-35B does not have an internal cannon, but instead uses an external container. The designers donated a third of the internal fuel tanks of the F-35A to accommodate the lifting engine inside. Avionics includes AN AN/APG-81 active phased array radar, an optoelectronic sighting system, and a distributed aperture radar system that provides a 360-degree picture of the situation. With the F135-PW-600 turbojet engine with an afterburner manufactured by Pratt & Whitney, as well as the aforementioned Rolls-Royce lifting system, the F-35B develops a maximum speed of Mach 1.6 at altitude, and its combat radius is 935 kilometers.

The F-35B has two internal weapons compartments that ensure the stealth of combat missions, and it can carry up to 2,700 kilograms of weapons and ammunition. Six external pylons make it possible to bring the total payload to 6,800 kilograms when the aircraft is not operating in stealth mode. In addition, it can accommodate the most advanced weapons such as the multi-purpose cruise missile Joint Strike Missile or Storm Shadow.

What is the conclusion? It is highly unlikely that the F-35B was directly copied from the Yak-141, although this is exactly what Russian sources claim. But there are many striking similarities between the two planes. And yes, Lockheed Martin did fund Yakovlev Design Bureau's research on vertical takeoff and landing and had unprecedented access to the collected data, which undoubtedly helped it in carrying out research and development to create the F-35 aircraft. Therefore, it is not surprising that these two aircraft are so similar to each other.

About the author: Brandon J. Weichert is a senior national security editor at The National Interest magazine and one of the authors of Popular Mechanics. Advises various government agencies and private organizations on geopolitical issues. He has published in many publications, including The Washington Times, National Review, The American Spectator, MSN, Asia Times and many others. He is the author of several books. His new book, The Disaster We Created, has gone on sale. How the West Lost Ukraine" (A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine).