We have a software-defined jet as opposed to a hardware-defined jet.

Most F-35 pilots haven't been born yet.

There are kids and our grandkids, and they will show up with a totally different idea than we had.

And they will say, no, no, no, here's a better way to employ with this airplane.

Let's change the software.

But the hardware is great.

Let's go exploit some features in there we hadn't thought of before.

April of 1953 was the last time any American soldier was attacked by an enemy

aircraft. So what I want is every time an aircraft noise, jet noise, comes overhead,

nobody has to look up and wonder if it's red or blue. They know it's the US.

Hey, welcome back to the Modern War Institute podcast.

I'm John Amble, editorial director at MWI,

and I have two guests joining me for this episode,

retired Air Force Major General Bob Delaney and Dr. Mike Scaff. We're going to talk

about the F-35. The F-35 is the fifth-generation fighter jet the U.S. military is counting on to meet the

needs of the future battle space. It's also an extraordinarily expensive platform and the subject of

more than a little controversy.

Both of my guests are former Air Force fighter pilots.

General Delaney is also representative of the F-35's manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, where Dr. Scaff is an engineer who is responsible for designing the new fighter's cockpit.

I had a lot of questions for both of them and during the episode they discussed everything

from the fundamental transformation the F-35 represents over earlier generation fighters

to how it will perform as a close air support asset for ground forces.

...