Recent wargames have the F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter up against conventional jets acting as aggressors in simulated aerial encounters for authenticity. Going up against a fifth-generation plane like the J-20 or the Su-57 might be daunting and deadly for US pilots.
It's not far from plausible that an F-15 EX Eagle or an F-16 Viper might be in a fight to survive or barely survive and have to rely on tactics to survive such an encounter to get out in one piece.
These stealth fighters are the right ones for the job and are the real deal. It gives experience for opposing pilots to scrap anything to kill a stealth-capable plane.
American air superiority is getting challenged by 5th gen planes
Training pilots of the USAF has been done for decades to deal with threats. In the 2020s, advanced fighters are on the horizon. China nor Russia would not hesitate to render the F-35 or F-22 obsolete to lord the skies, reported 19fortyfive.
Instead of retiring the Lightning II JSF, they are more involved in the activities of the Air Force, especially the F-35A used by the USAF in training or actual combat. Whether the Air Force likes it or not, the stealth fighter has become indispensable in the age of stealth, old or new.
Red Flag exercise aggressors
At the Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, a recent Red Flag exercise was held without the usual aggressor squadrons. The F-35 Lightning II Stealth Fighter of the air force put a twist in real air operations without shooting anyone down.
A group of congressional staff representatives toured @nellisafb to learn more about the F-35 Lightning II. During a flight line tour Aug. 5, they stopped by the #Lightning hangar and received briefs on the aircraft’s capabilities.@usairforce | @USAF_ACC pic.twitter.com/1XRrHA0SC0
— Nellis Air Force Base (@NellisAFB) August 9, 2021
Held from July 19 through August 6, with 16 squadrons and 2000 or more from many AFBS came to shoot to fight the F-35. The stealth fighter offers a different opponent in high-end aerial combat drills not available in any air force.
Before this exercise, they only acted as supplementary assets, not the main enemy, and now it changed as F-35A uses all the advantages it has to shoot down older planes. The predictability of flying the usual aggressors is now the real deal F-35, which is far different cited the Drive.
Meet the 'bad guys' who will help survive
Designated to act as the enemy are older one-seater stealth fighters of the 64th Aggressor Squadron (AGRS) assigned to Nellis AFB. Their job is to fly as the enemy using all the tricks up their sleeves in the Red Flag.
The USAF previously stated the plan to restart the 65th ARGS based on Nellis Air Force Base, equip them with nine low low-rate initial productions (LRIP) F-35As, noted Breaking Defense. That flies up with up-to-date F-16s.
The 65th aggressor squadron will get 12 older 5th generation lightning IIs, but it has not reached its fighters yet. Instead, the high-tech stealth jets were given to the 64th Aggressor Squadron first.
There is a race by China and Russia to get more advanced planes in the air, so far, the US has the most stealth jets in use, but that can change.
America's adversaries are working to be the most advanced and manage stealth-capable planes in the future. The F-35 Lightning II Stealth Fighter is operated with the F-16 Fighting Falcon; replacing the current fleet will be expensive.
Related Article: US F-35 Stealth Fighters Debut at Cope North Drills in Guam
