At the Blue Flag 21 exercises held in Israel, fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II fighters practiced interaction with fourth-generation aircraft for actions in a potential war with China or Russia, writes 19FortyFive.
At the event, in particular, the tasks of suppressing and destroying enemy air defenses, conducting air combat, striking ground targets were solved. The publication notes that over 70 fighters participated in the events: F-16C Fighting Falcon, Rafale, Mirage 2000 and Typhoon.
19FortyFive writes that in one of the episodes of Blue Flag 21, the use of F-35 Lightning II sensors allowed the F-16C Fighting Falcon to destroy 17 of 19 enemy fighters.
In September, the American military industrial corporation Lockheed Martin announced the delivery of 700 units of the F-35 Lightning II of all variants.
In October 2020, the F-35 Lightning II, due to its low visibility and equipped with a variety of sensors, was named in the RAND Corporation report as the only aircraft suitable for initial contact with Russian troops in the event of a possible conflict in Europe.
The family of multifunctional fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II fighters has been produced since 2001 by the American military-industrial corporation Lockheed Martin. The aircraft is made in three versions: A (for the Air Force), B (with a shortened takeoff and vertical landing) and C (deck).
Ivan Potapov
