How F-35s neutralise cruise missiles

Lockheed Martin’s Chris Widerstrom tells Defence Connect editor Liam Garman how the fifth-generation fighter can operate as a missile detector in the skies

Beyond its lethal capabilities, the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter has been marketed by Lockheed Martin as an essential device in the Australian Defence Force’s situational awareness toolkit. In fact, the prime has even gone as far as to describe the Joint Strike Fighter as “the most advanced node in a 21st century security network-centric architecture.” A bold statement. While bold, in 2021, Lockheed Martin announced that a US Army PAC-3 successfully intercepted a surrogate cruise missile using the aircraft as an “elevated sensor”. According to the prime, the flight test marked a turning point for the US’ Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System, intercepting a threat asset solely using data curated by the F-35.

How on earth does it work?

Amid a worsening geopolitical environment, I was keen to strip back the pastiche marketing terminologies that frequent defence news releases and find out what makes the Joint Strike Fighter an “elevated sensor” and how this capability can be employed in wartime to detect and intercept cruise missiles.