The F-35 stealth fighter sure is expensive, but when a weapon like this is so dominant it won’t come cheap

The F-35 stealth fighter sure is expensive, but when a weapon like this is so dominant it won’t come cheap. And it seems not the F-35 now has a new trick up its sleeve: it can help ĸιll cruise missiles, as explained by an expert: In a recent training exercise, an F-35A showed off its data collection and targeting skills by helping a Patriot air defender system destroy a practice cruise missile. This shows that the U.S. Army and Air Force can work together for missile defense in an interesting partnership showing off two advanced systems. This is the first time the Patriot and F-35A have acted together for a common goal.

What Transpired?

The test happened on June 15 in Palau – a Micronesia nation in the western Pacific Ocean. The air defense system was an older PAC-2 model that consisted of two launchers. It was the first time a Patriot and F-35A displayed their mettle in a live-fire exercise outside of the United States. The target was a drone masquerading as a cruise missile.

Mind Meld Between F-35A and Patriot

Major Nicholas Chopp, a spokesman for the 94th Air and Missile Defense Command in Hawaii, said the target went out to the ocean and turned 180 degrees to head back toward the island. The F-35A, also based in Palau, used its radar and sensors to spot the bogey and shared this data with the PAC-2s. The missile interceptors destroyed the drone at least 20 miles from the island at a height of 10,000 feet.