The Navy's F-35 Has an Embarrassing Flaw It Would Rather Not Admit

What You Need to Know: The U.S. Navy’s F-35 Lightning II, despite being a premier fifth-generation stealth fighter, faces significant range limitations that could jeopardize aircraft carrier safety in Pacific conflicts.

-The F-35C variant offers a combat radius of 600 nautical miles, slightly surpassing the F/A-18 Super Hornet’s 570 nautical miles for air-to-air missions. However, its reduced payload and reliance on carriers for refueling require carriers to operate closer to adversaries...