Retired US Air Force general: the F-35 is a "flying vacuum cleaner" for the Czech army

Retired four-star US Air Force General Gary North, now vice president of Lockheed Martin's Aeronautics division, explained in an interview how the F-35 fighter jet differs from the Swedish Gripens currently flown by Czech pilots, and how Czechia's transition to the new aircraft is progressing, with the first jets due to be ready in 2029.

A cockpit without the familiar display

According to the general, what strikes pilots most when they move to the F-35 from fourth-generation fighters like the Gripen is the design of the cockpit: there's no familiar heads-up display on the windscreen. All the necessary information is projected onto the visor of a special helmet, so the pilot sees the data no matter which way his head is turned. Czech pilots have already tried out this system in simulators and, as North notes, came away impressed. It's a genuine leap compared to fourth-generation aircraft, where pilots have to focus on the transparent screen directly in front of them.

The F-35's low observability — its reduced detectability to enemy air defenses — changes combat tactics just as much. The pilot sees where threats are located on the battlefield, both in the air and on the ground, and when the enemy is likely not to spot him. The aircraft shows his exact position relative to those threats, letting the pilot maneuver and carry out the mission with a much higher chance of returning alive.

A "flying vacuum cleaner" in service of the army

The F-35 is sometimes called a small flying radar or a flying command center — an apt comparison, in North's view. Using its sensors, the fighter gathers data from the air and the ground, merges it into a single picture, and can pick up almost any signal transmitted nearby. Via its data links, it shares this information not only with other F-35s but also with command posts, as well as with air defense and missile defense systems, including the American Patriot and THAAD, and with soldiers on the ground.

"I like to compare the F-35 to a vacuum cleaner," the general admitted: the fighter gathers information on aircraft, ground vehicles and electronic signals, and is able to combine, analyze and forward it onward. Thanks to this, the pilot stops being merely a man at the controls — he sees a substantial part of the battlefield, can warn others of dangers, and can help coordinate their actions.

Gary North himself is a retired four-star general of the US Air Force. He served in the US Air Force for 36 years, from 1976 to 2012, logged more than 4,700 flight hours in F-4, F-16 and F-15C fighters, and flew 83 combat missions, including in Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq, and in 2006-2009 he commanded US Central Command Air Forces in the Middle East.

24 aircraft for Czechia

Czech pilots and air force command are, in North's assessment, highly capable people, ready for the transition to the F-35: he has personally known some of them for several years already, since the initial evaluation stage of the aircraft. Training is required not only for pilots but also for technicians, as well as for the air bases themselves — the general calls Czechia's rearmament with the F-35 a well thought-out process.

Of the 24 Czech aircraft, twelve will be built at the main plant in Fort Worth, Texas, and another twelve in the Italian city of Cameri. The first jets are due to be ready in 2029: initially they will remain in the US, where Czech pilots will train at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Arkansas. Once training is complete, the pilots will return home, while the fighters themselves will fly to Czech bases later — the first F-35 is due to arrive in Czechia in 2031.

Simulators and the first instructors

A significant part of the training takes place on simulators, and according to North, they play an even bigger role for the F-35 than for older types of aircraft: some sensitive combat capabilities are safer to "probe" in a simulator rather than in an actual flight. Simulators are used to practice the interaction of pairs, four-ships and larger groups of aircraft, to run through complex situations that are hard to recreate in the air, and then to carry the skills learned over into real operations.

The decision on the exact format of the training is up to the Czech military, the general noted. The first Czech instructors — experienced Gripen pilots who will transition to the F-35 — will train at Ebbing Air National Guard Base, and after returning to Czechia will be able to train their junior colleagues. According to North, this is the approach other countries take as well.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz