There is no PROVEN kill switch - there have been accusations of it from senior German and Swiss personnel in a position to know (amongst others).
However it doesn’t matter, there is a publicly acknowledged issue that works out to pretty much the same - if the US attacks a country with F-35s those planes are functionally worthless very quickly
The ALIS/ODIN system means the US can unilaterally change what is friendly/foe, what is recognised or ignored etc, and if the regular communications for updates aren’t maintained the plane goes into the equivalent of your car’s “limp home” mode.
TL;DR a hostile US can in advance of an attack (for example) tell your F-35s that all Gripens are hostile, and that X set of “friendly” beacons are now hostile and there’s not a damn thing you can do other than not fly the plane. No one other than Israel got an over-ride - because they refused to take the software.
It would be quite hilarious if it turned out every single operator took that into consideration and secretly deployed countermeasures to nullify that tactic.
Imagine a wing showing up prepared for no resistance and they run straight into it.
It would I imagine look a little like the first 48hours of the Russian attack on Kyiv where the Russians turned up with a brass band in dress uniforms (unarmed unless you count trumpets and drumsticks).
There is no PROVEN kill switch - there have been accusations of it from senior German and Swiss personnel in a position to know (amongst others).
However it doesn’t matter, there is a publicly acknowledged issue that works out to pretty much the same - if the US attacks a country with F-35s those planes are functionally worthless very quickly
The ALIS/ODIN system means the US can unilaterally change what is friendly/foe, what is recognised or ignored etc, and if the regular communications for updates aren’t maintained the plane goes into the equivalent of your car’s “limp home” mode.
TL;DR a hostile US can in advance of an attack (for example) tell your F-35s that all Gripens are hostile, and that X set of “friendly” beacons are now hostile and there’s not a damn thing you can do other than not fly the plane. No one other than Israel got an over-ride - because they refused to take the software.
https://aerospaceglobalnews.com/news/the-f-35-probably-doesnt-have-a-physical-kill-switch-but-it-doesnt-need-one/
Edit to add “(for example)” as it was unclear that that was just an example of the many things they could do
It would be quite hilarious if it turned out every single operator took that into consideration and secretly deployed countermeasures to nullify that tactic.
Imagine a wing showing up prepared for no resistance and they run straight into it.
It would I imagine look a little like the first 48hours of the Russian attack on Kyiv where the Russians turned up with a brass band in dress uniforms (unarmed unless you count trumpets and drumsticks).
Would love to see it