Vanguard Magazine

6 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 www.vanguardcanada.com s sIt REP A dogfight you cAn't win Based on pilot feedback from a mock air battle between a single seat F-35A and a two-seat F-16 Block 40 in which the Joint Strike Fighter allegedly performed poorly, WarisBoring's Editor-in-Chief David Axe left almost no part of the aircraft un- scathed, painting an ugly picture of a massively flawed and ultra-expensive project that would get American pilots killed "and cost the United States control of the air." Such a dramatic conclusion was readily picked up by international news outlets, and soon jour- nalists everywhere began parroting Axe's dire warnings about the F-35. Here in Canada, Axe appeared on the CBC radio show As it Happens, where the military journalist warned listeners that the F-35 didn't just lose in the mock air battle, it lost to an aircraft designed 40 years ago. "The actual F-16 that the F-35 test pilot was battling against in this mock combat," Axe be- gan, "was probably more than 20 years old. It rolled off the factory line in the 1980s and also is one of the more sluggish F-16 versions. This particular air- plane happened to be lugging two extra under-wing fuel tanks, which made it even slower." Yikes, Canada. Be warned. If the F-35 can't do battle with an obsolete fighter already struggling under the weight of two fuel tanks, when the Rus- sians fly into Canadian airspace with their 5th generation aircraft to duke it out for air superior- ity over the Arctic, we're doomed. It is no secret that the F-35 has its fair share of detractors, many of whom have no problem sharing their opinions with the media. And these days, with budgets slashed and few resources to conduct actual "journalism," many sit around and wait until people like Axe are bold enough to throw the first punch. After that, all they need to do is pile on and start typing, fact or fiction be damned. Nowhere is this more obvious than the big top that's been erected around the F-35. So blurred are the lines between fact and fiction when it comes to this aircraft that Canadians have but little choice to be misinformed. That's dangerous not just for Lockheed Martin, but for the entire defence industry. Thousands of Canadians would have listened to David Axe on As it Happens, and probably a hand- ful — if that — would have taken the time to visit by Jason McNaught Early in July, an article appeared on U.S.-based blog, WarisBoring entitled, "Test Pilot admits the F-35 can't dogfight: new stealth fighter is dead meat in air battle."

• Cover