Fears erupt about ‘F-35 kill swap’ over claims US may ‘disable’ RAF jets

An official at a German arms firm has instructed F-35 fighter jets could possibly be deactivated utilizing a so-called “kill swap”.

The flexibility of the US to disable the American-made fifth-generation fighter jets, that are additionally utilized by the UK in addition to a number of different nations, has lengthy been speculated however unconfirmed.

Nevertheless, the pinnacle of communications on the German arms firm Hensoldt claimed to Germany’s Bild newspaper the “kill swap within the F-35 is greater than only a rumor”.

Germany is ready to obtain 35 of the superior fighter jets from subsequent yr in a deal price round $9 billion.

The US has stopped offering navy support to Kyiv and, on Saturday, experiences emerged that American-supplied F-16s had stopped working in Ukraine.

However that is stated to have been due to the suspension of essential help for radar methods, relatively than the jets being “switched off”.

Former chairman of the Munich Safety Convention, Wolfgang Ischinger, informed Bild: “If we’ve got to concern that the USA may do with future German F-35s what they’re at present doing with Ukraine, we may take into account terminating the contract.”

Each Switzerland and Belgium have denied experiences suggesting the US may jam F-35s.

Belgium’s chief of defence, Common Frederik Vansina, stated the F-35 “is just not a remote-controlled plane”.

Europe is closely reliant on American-made weapons and methods, and there are rising issues over the Trump administration’s dedication to the continent.

Former Conservative defence secretary, Sir Ben Wallace, informed the Monetary Instances that if he have been nonetheless within the submit, his first response would have been to fee “an appraisal of our dependencies and vulnerabilities throughout worldwide companions — together with the US”.

He stated this is able to enable reflection “on whether or not there must be any strategic adjustments”.

Britain flies the B F-35 variant, which operates from land and the Royal Navy’s Queen-Elizabeth class plane carriers.

The UK is ready to have 48 of the stealth fighters by the tip of the yr.

The Each day Categorical has approached the Ministry of Defence for a remark.