F-35 Lightning II’s ‘worst nightmare’ isn’t a Russian or Chinese fighter, it’s something without which life is impossible

With fifth generation stealth fighters in their arsenal, the United States of America, China and Russia have undoubtedly the most powerful air forces in the world. While the US leads the other two in developing and deploying its F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II combat aircraft, the Chinese have the Chengdu J-20 and Shenyang J-35 with Russia last off the blocks with its Sukhoi Su-57.

As the world witnesses Russia’s continuing military assault on Ukraine and China expanding its defense forces at a rapid pace to challenge the US hegemony in several regions, the odds of the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II facing off against an adversary’s fifth generation stealth jet is increasing. There are chances that if Russia decides to expand its war and move westwards attacking more European countries, the American F-35s will be pitted against the Su-57. Or if the Chinese forces invade Taiwan, the US may send its advanced stealth fighters to combat the Chengdu J-20 and Shenyang J-35.

All the three nations also posses advanced missiles and defense systems to outsmart, outflank and outmaneuver their adversaries. Air-to-air missiles with ranges exceeding over 200 miles and some ground-based air defense systems with the ability to hit targets over 250 miles away are already in service with the forces of these countries. They pose a deadly threat to any aerial target including the stealth fighters.




In a combat scenario, an American F-35 flying to take on a Russian or Chinese jet will be wary of getting locked on by an enemy radar and witnessing an enemy missile streaking towards it at hypersonic speeds. Such a scenario is not hypothetical as a recent French Air and Space Force video reveals that even the 4.5 generation Rafale can track and lock on to a F-35 before deciding to fire its missile to take down the American fighter.

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The French Rafale and the US F-35 were taking part in Exercise Trident Atlantic 25, hosted by NATO member Finland from June 16 to 27, when the dogfight saw the former coming out victorious in a simulated dogfight.

A similar action during an actual war is possible with the Russian or Chinese jets too. But are the Russian and Chinese fifth generation combat aircraft, their air-to-air missiles and ground based defense systems the real threat to the US fighters or is there something more sinister lurking to bring down the F-35?

Ice a deadly threat to F-35

A recent US Air Force report about a F-35 crash outlines the role of the seemingly innocuous water in solid form resulting in the aircraft tumbling out of the sky and ending in a fireball at Eielson Air Force Base. The crash on January 28, 2025, at the military station in Alaska resulted in the total destruction of the F-35 although the pilot survived with minor injuries after ejecting as the aircraft fell to the ground following a landing gear malfunction.

Ice formation in the F-35’s landing gear was found to be the culprit for the loss of the $196.5 million aircraft, according to the Pacific Air Forces report released on August 25.

A detailed investigation into the crash by the US Air Force and F-35 makers Lockheed Martin came to the conclusion that the hydraulic fluid in the landing gear was contaminated by water, which froze in the extreme cold of Alaska. The recorded temperature at Eielson Air Force Base at the time of the F-34A crash was 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit.

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The F-35 which crashed was part of four combat jets from the 355th Fighter Squadron, 354th Fighter Wing, which took off from Eielson Air Force Base on the ill-fated day. After the aircraft was airborne, the pilot discovered that the aircraft's nose landing gear had failed to retract completely. The reason, as the crash report states, was water freezing after contaminating the hydraulic fluid, preventing the landing gear from retracting.

“After running multiple checklists and a conference call with engineers, the pilot’s attempts to center the nose landing gear failed. During those attempts, ice formed inside the main landing gear struts, and they did not fully extend causing all valid Weight on Wheels sensors to indicate the aircraft was on the ground. The aircraft transitioned to “on ground” flight control law, despite being airborne, and became uncontrollable,” a press release of the crash report stated.

When the aircraft’s sensors detected the landing gear had malfunctioned, it sent a signal to the onboard computer indicating the F-35 was still on ground. This resulted in the onboard computer taking over the control from the pilot and activating the ground-operation mode in the F-35’s avionics.

After spending almost 50 minutes in a conference call with Lockheed Martin engineers while the F-35 flew with its landing gear still not retracted, the pilot finally lost control of the aircraft leading to the crash.