If the F-35’s specs and capabilities can’t deter Houthi barrages, perhaps they aren’t eager to halt the violence.

American F-35 fighter jets are headed to the Middle East, as the uptick in violence between U.S. troops and the Houthi rebels in Yemen continues to mount. The Pentagon’s rapid expansion of forces in the region comes as President Donald Trump vowed to deploy “overwhelming lethal force” against the Iranian-backed group until indiscriminate attacks against commercial ships in the Red Sea are stopped.

America Is Surging Military Forces to the Mideast

Last month, several B-2 bombers were moved to Diego Garcia, and the USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group was redirected toward the Middle East to join its Harry S. Truman sister ship. According to Defense News, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has also dispatched a fleet of F-35s to Jordan. “Secretary Hegseth continues to make clear that, should Iran or its proxies threaten American personnel and interests in the region, the United States will take decisive action to defend our people,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell asserted in light of these moves.

While the Navy’s F/A-18 Super Hornet has been launched repeatedly from the flight decks of USS Carl Vinson to strike Houthi assets in Yemen, the additional deployment of F-35s to Jordan sends a renewed warning to the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Joint Strike Fighter, widely considered to be the most advanced fifth-generation platform in service across the globe, should in theory deter the Houthis after landing on their doorstep. However, despite two weeks of renewed U.S. strikes targeting Houthi military outposts, military command centers, and weapons-related infrastructure, the Iranian-backed group has yet to halt its Red Sea barrages.

Introducing the Lightning II

When it comes to fighter jets, the F-35 has all the perks. From stealth, avionics, sensors, versatility, and armaments, the Lightning II is the quintessential renaissance aircraft. The jet’s radar-absorbent materials and small radar cross-section give it incredible stealth, making it extremely difficult for adversarial aircraft and radar to detect. In fact, the only jet that has the Lightning II beat when it comes to stealth may be the F-22 Raptor, which features an even smaller radar cross-section. The Joint Strike Fighter was designed for networked warfare so that the jets would possess the capability to send and receive data to and from other aircraft. This stealthy Multifunction Advanced Data Link even allows F-35s flown for other foreign militaries to exchange essential real-time data.

In terms of sensors and avionics, the F-35 is nearly unmatched by its near-peers. The platform features large touchscreens and a helmet-mounted display that makes piloting easier and safer. Based on the incorporation of the Distributed Aperture System, F-35 pilots are able to look directly through the jet to see real-time information. The AN/APG-81 active electronically scanned array also provides a robust electronic countermeasures function for the platform. The Lightning II’s stealth mode alone is top-notch, but the fifth-generation platform also possesses a “beast mode,” which allows it to carry up to 22,000 pounds of combined internal and external weapons. While in this armament-heavy form, the F-35 can lug two AMRAAMs, six JDAMS, and two Sidewinders. If the Lightning II’s specs and capabilities can’t deter Houthi barrages, perhaps the Yemen-based group is not eager to halt the violence.

About the Author: Maya Carlin

Maya Carlin, National Security Writer with The National Interest, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin. Carlin has over 1,000 articles published over the last several years on various defense issues.

Image: A Periam Photography / Shutterstock.com

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