F-35 a duck in dogfights: leaked report

The F-35, the most expensive weapons project in history, is revealed to be incapable taking on a jet it was meant to replace in a dogfight, according to a leaked report obtained by defence blog War is Boring.

The report, written by an F-35 test pilot with over 2,000 hours of flight time in the F-15E and experience in flying both F-16s and F-18s, highlighted several problems with the super-costly and often dysfunctional US ''plane of the future'' in a dogfight scenario.

With the F-35 price tag increasing, Canada would be faced with paying an additional $1 billion or cut back its purchase.

Some of the more noteworthy issues from the report include:

•  ''Overall, the most noticeable characteristic of the F-35A in a visual engagement was its lack of energy maneuverability.''
•  ''No effective gun defence was found during this test.''
•  ''The helmet was too large for the space inside the canopy to adequately see behind the aircraft. There were multiple occasions when the bandit would've been visible (not blocked by the seat) but the helmet prevented getting in a position to see him (behind the high side of the seat, around the inside of the seat, or high near the lift vector).''

The evaluation was done on the basis of a series of ''traditional Basic Fighter Maneuvers in offensive, defensive and neutral setups at altitudes ranging from 10,000 to 30,000 feet.''

Ranged against a fully armed F-16 plane in a mock dogfight, the F-35 proved sluggish, even when it carried no weapons to slow it down.

The F-35 was at a distinct disadvantage in all engagement scenarios, with the exception of one manoeuvre according to the pilot.

''Once established at high [angle of attack], a prolonged full rudder input generated a fast enough yaw rate to create excessive heading crossing angles with opportunities to point for missile shots.''

However, this manoeuvre ''required a commitment to lose energy and was a temporary opportunity prior to needing to regain energy … and ultimately end up defensive again.''

So, if it did not work, it was time to fly - and fast.