The F-35 is about to become a POWERHOUSE 

HOLY CRAP GUYS, THE F35 IS GETTING A MITOCHONDRIA!!!

If they're already doing this for the F35, just imagine the B21 and NGAD...

My whole family appreciates and watches all of your content. As a retired Navy man, I would love it if you consider doing an episode on what a future Carrier air wing will look like with both manned and unmanned aircraft. It seems like the F-35's capabilities will make this possible sooner rather than later.

Looks like we are going to get the Block 4 version here in Finland, yay!

5:38 - 5:47 A change from 5 to 20 is described as "a 75% increase", but that is not a 75% increase; it is a 300% increase (an increase to 400% of its previous version). (A 75% increase would be 5+.75x5 = 8.75.)

Going from 5 receivers to 20 isn't a 75% increase, it's a 300% increase.

Each F35 is an AWACS plane to a group of 4th generation fighters, through Link 16 and soon Link 22. It’s already a truly amazing machine.

You can tell just from the intro that Alex is VERY excited about this one.

I'm imagining high altitude F-15s, loaded to the gills, functioning as missile trucks, and the F-35 as a gun sight of sorts.

F-35Bs alone have revolutionized Allied carrier warfare. Japan will soon be operating its first fixed-wing carriers since WWII. Unthinkable without Japanese F-35Bs.

I'm test pilot for B.A.E,,and I've been lucky enough to fly this aircraft, amongst others,,this is by far the best of integration, weapons delivery,multi targeting and stealth, although it can only be flown supersonic,for a limited time,but man,,it's awesome.

I understand the issues involved for the engine upgrade. The more advanced engine sounds great, but it is very new. The less capable engine is still a big upgrade in a mature field like jet engine design. My first concern is reliability. The F-35 is a one-engine fighter, so there may be no real option but to go with the most tested and most durable engine we have right now. The more advanced engine design will have its day.

The F-35 going to be in service for decades it's worth every penny. The fuel savings of the Adaptive cycle engine will easily outweigh the cost of development and upgrades.

Thanks for the update on this incredible aircraft. Word has it that the top secret add-on is a back seat and separate canopy for a launchable R2-D2. 😊

Alex, apologies if I've misunderstood what you were saying, but going from five to twenty-five EW receivers is a 400% increase, not a 75% increase.

They are doing The Big Rewrite! A point about doubling the range of target acquisitions is the exponential jump in area that represents.

I remember the A-6 TRAM that made the modern upgraded planes totally different from the Vietnam era versions. They were still a Bomb Buggy, but they were much more accurate bomb buggies and in all weather.

This huge program really proves out the wisdom of making one "joint strike fighter" that all services can use. Yes, it resulted in compromises and delays in the design, but so much of modern weaponry is defined by electronics and software that is common to all variants and can be upgraded in sync.

At first, I wasn't too crazy for the F-35, but now, I'm stoked about it!

So much better than the shorts. I shouldn't know what Alex looks like.

some things are worth paying for, and the biggest price tag is for the science behind this airframe. i come from the more traditional mindset of designing an airframe for its role, but i've been taught the lesson our adversaries would be wise to consider - knowledge IS power. and nothing knows airspace like the F 35

Excited that we in Canada are getting the block 4

Terrific update Alex...keep it.up...you're killing it on air power!!!

The new Electronic Warfare upgrades are insane. One of the biggest criticisms was how the air frame and software was specifically designed to upgrade without significant redesigns to the fighter. Critics took this as an ASSEMBLY LINE idea. Not the case. Just wait until AI starts chipping in. Scary

The GE variable cycle engine should be utilized to save fuel, give longer range and overall performance.

Together with the Boeing fuel tanker drone and things like the loyal Wingman it can safely be said, we are working hand in hand with machines already.

Can't miss those PT belts at 5:50

The F-35 is less an aircraft than a complex networked computer system. Many of its significant warfighting capabilities are related to its computing capabilities. The fact that these capabilites can be hugely enhanced over time without rebuilding the airframe is a major warfighting advantage.

I remember when, as part of the YF-22 program, a special anti-overload cover with a tilting backrest of up to 75 degrees was planned. This was to help the pilot endure extreme g. It would be nice to add this to the next generation of fighters so the AI can outmaneuver the AA missile on its own. It was also then that the advanced GE F120 was created, which worked in a changed double-pass cycle, and now everyone is raving about what a super-hyper 5000 is, etc.

$15 billion over a decade is $1.5 billion per year; which works out to $48,387 per plane over a decade. That's practically a rounding error, and well worth it.

I have flown many types of aircraft and when a pilot tells you he likes the one he is flying the best, it makes sense to believe him. F-16, F-15, F-18, F-4, and many pilots from other countries have all said that the F-35 was the best most awesome plane they had ever flown and they didn't want to go back. Having been in many friendly dog fights, knowledge is king followed by speed. It can be visual or electronic but that is the edge every fighter pilot wants. This plane coupled with all of its sensors offers so much info that it might lead to an overload of the pilot. I understand that they now have a threat analysis computer that prioritizes the threats and can actually engage them in the correct order of danger. The new off-boresight helmet also makes getting on the 6 o: clock unnecessary and makes them even more deadly. At the Red Flag exercise, the kill ratio was one F-35 to 15 F-15s. I was a head-on Sparrow guy and a tail-end AIM-9 guy but those days are over with this plane. In a 4th gen fighter, I would not want to go against one.

I'm quite sure when they designed to F-35, it was to be able to upgrade it continuously. There were a lot of critics out there saying that it was a turkey. But the more they fly this thing and learn how it operates, the more it's changing people's minds.

I am concerned that the F35 has been delayed and costly, but now it seems to be a usable warcraft. But the fact that is can be greatly upgraded without developing a whole new platform is outstanding. Being able to add major improvements is a huge advantage.

I love SANDBOXX

I remember MacOS 7.6 waaaaay back in the late 90s right when Steve Jobs was coming back. No *apparent* change from 7.5 - you’d never know there was an upgrade from looking at it - but they’d picked through the entire OS and cleaned it up in preparation for MacOS 8.0. Which *was* a dramatic shift. In 7.6 my Mac was a hell of a lot more stable. And “virtual memory” was so good my Mac acted like it had twice the RAM. So I know TR 3 all by itself might turn out a dramatically improved machine.

I love these, but as a software engineer I can not imagine how bad the CPUs were if they can lift power by 37x. 37x is the difference between Core2Duo P8600 and AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X, 2008 vs 2019. So not that big compared to commercially available growth.

The background videos are super dope. Really cool formations with different fighters. Love all the LN jets!

I’m always left wordless and left with little to comment upon. So a thank you for the efforts in time and production of these vids. Tom.

great video, love the series! But 5 to 20 is a 300% increase, not 75% ((20-5) / 5)

When the F-35 was in testing and it got whooped by an F-16, everyone lost their minds (including me) but it was a very deceptive test. The software was so conservative in the F-35 that it was almost unfightable. But that was intentional. We just didn't know that's part of the test and eval program. The pilots even told the press and they still ran with it. It was a false narrative. Once they opened up the limits and made it like it was supposed to be, it would blow the doors off an F-16. So now we're really seeing the true teeth of the beast.

Honestly, I think the GE XA-100 is the way to go. The more of that design manufactured, the more cost effective it will be to benefit the NGAD as well.

That GE Dual Cycle engine has been under development for over a decade and is now READY. That engine could be an on-going replacement for the P&W in legacy F-35s and original in the new block versions (except the vertical take-off models). The F-35 JSF will need that extra Dual Cycle range in the Pacific Theater. GIVE PACIFIC THEATER F-35s THE DUAL CYCLE GE ENGINE! If we're so interested in saving money and dulling the tip of the spear then give other theater F35s the upgraded P&W engine. OR... save the GE Dual Cycle engine for the GEN. 6 fighter.

I would like to see more F35B model type aircraft. When carriers are sunk and runways are cratered, it just makes so much more sense for everyone to be using a supersonic VTOL. The British taught us how to land the F4U Corsair on carriers during WW2 and they are at it again with the F35B. They have developed the SRVL (Shipborne Rolling Vertical Landing) which doesn't require fuel or ammo to be dumped to reduce weight like the VTOL landing. The SRVL could be used on land as well if needed. Now I do understand F35B carries less fuel and ammo than the other variants, but those are the deficiencies that need more work. I support thrust vectoring for all aircraft and missiles. Not for the fun airshow manuevers that bleed energy, but for turning an aircraft as tight as the human body will allow and for short take offs and landings.

They REALLY need to make the adaptive cycle engines a top priority. Pratt and Whitney’s proposed upgrades are a superb stop gap to keep the F-35 improving incrementally (as it SHOULD be), but the ACE, whoever ultimately produces it first, will be a HUGE leap forward for whoever gets it right.

I saw both the F-35 and the F-22 fly recently at the Avalon Air Show. For airshow performance doing crazy maneuvers F-22 definitely still wins, and it looks better, but this thing is still pretty cool to watch. I dont think the enemy (Russia/China) has much of anything that will compete in the real world if we can get decent numbers of F-35, but it seems the higher generation of aircraft we build the less of them we get, can 1 F-35 defeat 10 of whatever the opponent sends up? I dont know, but I dont think it's impossible.

The block 4 f35 is probably not designed to counter 5th gen fighter, but for 6th gen, it’s basically a 5.5 gen fighter that offers decent weigh aganist a 6th gen monster

Man, i hope they get those new engines they sound amazing, but if not, I hope the ngad platforms will get them, at least. But in all reality, the f35 needs them for range and power to run everything they want to run. So I hope they don't cheapen out on it. And can I say it's about time that f35 will be able to get the meteor on board iv been waiting a while to see that happen and with all their new and upcoming missiles their going to be something serious to deal with? I can't wait to see what this new rendition of the f35 can do sounds awesome though.

Thanks Alex. Awesome info, editing and pace.

What some people dont understand is that when it comes to the budget of the F-35 program, is that it's 3 different aircraft for 3 different branches of the military. So the budget is bigger x3 to accommodate all the aircraft and different requirements. If the military had to fund 3 totally different aircraft for 3 separate branches of their military and upgrade each custom model made by different companies, then add all 3 different programs together the price of the F-35 program would be very small in comparison.

Upgrades. Reminds me of a project I worked on for the MoD where the platform ran on Windows XP and EOL hardware. This was in the middle of the last decade. Good show Alex - very informative as usual!

I saw somewhere recently that the newest F35s had enough spare power capacity to power the newest generation of 50 kilowatt lasers. I doubt they're miniaturized enough to fit into a pod yet, but if that is the case then I wonder if a short range smaller kilowatt laser anti-missile Point Defense pod may find its way onto the F35 soon.

Justin Trudeau delaying the purchase of F-35's was a blessing in disguise... the 88 F-35's bought by Canada this year are getting these block 4 upgrades.

Beautiful machine.

Canada is upgrading some of its CF-188's with new radar and other very advanced equipment. These likely will be from the Australian airframes she purchased. While also placing the order for the first 16 of 88 CF-35a's. The vastly upgraded Hornets will serve in the north where it is good to have the second engine and also serve as a base line to judge the advanced CF-35's performance. Canada may also choose to designate her F-35's as the CF-355a's.

Those none f22 fighters participating in this exercise are fighting ghosts.

I love your videos. An increase of 5 to 20 is 400%, not 75%.

First video I've seen of yours. Not that knowledgeable about what a block chain or any of the seriously technical stuff you mentioned, but when you put it in simple terms I understood it. I think as I watch more of your videos I'll start to understand more. Really enjoyed this. Subscribed!! 😍

Putting a rocket-level engine on this beast makes it beyond insane.

I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end! 🤗

With such upgrades I can’t imagine what kind of already integrated, endogenous systems exist on the B21 or what capabilities the NGAD/FXX can casually promise. Side note, I like the shorts but of course they can’t replace the long-form videos

Your math is wrong on the 75% increase in radar detectors. Logic check, if you start with 5 and add 5 more, that is a 100% increase. So if you added 15 more that is a 300% increase because you are adding 3 times more the original amount.

The F35 is such a gorgeous fighter jet. I'm currently playing Ace Combat 7 and am grinding missions so I can unlock it! That game is so much fun when you are playing with a flightstick and throttle.

I can't wait for this beast!!! it really does need that extra cooling offered by GE's engine. Can Pratt provide the extra cooling?

I initially didn't like the plane, but it's a beast, no question. 1:07

I wish they would make a 5th Gen F-14 Tom-Cat & F-15 Eagle....then I could die happy

I am not a fan of the 35. I was at Edwards Air Force Base during the testing. I'm glad to see the 35 finally gets it's just. With block 4, the 35 will be closer it what it was originally designed.

Wow! Never thought of the F35 receiving an upgrade this soon.

I’ve had a couple make a wishes because I was born with a rare tough disability. If I got another if I wanted to go flying in an F35 for 10-20 minutes would they allow that? Like can they fly it like a drone with me inside it?

Great job AF! The modular design of the F35 allows the enhancements without developing a new air frame. Steps beyond Tesla's over-the-air updates and superior to older platforms!

I like Alex Hollings. His contents and info are reliable and upto date. Keep up the good work my man we appreciate you. On a side note please know that you inspire a lot of us to pay intetest into defence matters. Good luck.

I wonder... Why not make stealth missiles that could be carried under wing or perhaps partially submerged into the wing or just smaller missiles that could fit in the wing. Anyway I'm sure it isn't easy to do but adding firepower is paramount.

This new package has to have a lot of the CCPs user military specialists sweating bullets

The F35 is expensive? There is nothing more expensive than having a second best air force.

Under the rather unfortunate "build while designing" notion, block 4 is essentially what would normally be considered the completed "version 1". TR-3 and anything beyond block 4.0 are ideas and upgrades which go beyond the preproduction design expectation. Based on how the plane is designed to work, the EOTS upgrade is likely _more_ important than the radar upgrade. LPI radar is nice, but EOTS is the bread & butter of the F-35 in hostile airspace. In hostile airspace the radar upgrade will likely be more about it's passive array, ELINT, and EW capability (which granted, IS a huge part of the F-35's mind-boggling toolset). Worth pointing out the XA-100 doesn't actually offer +25% thrust. It would give 45,000 lbs of max thrust, while "current" production engines for the F-35 already offer 44,000 (with some tweaks looking at 48,000). But the GE engine does open up supercruise, because it's a 3-step engine instead of a 2-step. In stage 2 (out of 3) the adaptive cycle engine would allow for sustained supercruise (a feature which fell by the wayside with weight-bloat). The +25% range isn't "free" it comes at the cost of cruising speed. But it is very useful for situations where range is valued over speed. Basically its stage 1 for +25% range, stage 2 for supercruise at present range, or stage 3 for max thrust which is on par with the current production version of the P&W f135 engine. I don't know if the XA-100 has growth potential like the PW F135 did (going from 38,000 to 44,000 max thrust, and potential for up to 48,000). It may actually have slightly less max thrust. But the promise of supercruise without afterburner, or 25% greater range, is 'very' interesting. Engines are an ongoing & recurring cost though. Not a 'one & done' upgrade cost. They figure prominently in the "per flight hour" expense. I'm curious what GE can get the price down to.

The world is about to understand why America doesn’t have universal healthcare 😂

The 'modularity' capacity of the 35 has been undervalued from Day 1. Also the powerplant was always just good not great.

Awesome content sir! You deliver!

If it’s successful ? The ‘if’ ship has sailed, the F-35 is a stunning success. As far as the tax payers go, practically all tnat money went right back into the economy along with jobs all over the country. A heckuva lot better than a stimulus check, with the added benefit of having an outstanding military asset - not too dissimilar to funding massive infrastructure projects. Not to mention the technology and production capability transfers to our allies, as producing parts for the F-35 helps maintain their aerospace companies, along with exporting the aircraft to our allies, generating revenue for the US and increasing NATO and our Asian allies security and war fighting capability. I know, pretty over the top, but despite the fanboy I am, I’m not entirely wrong. I certainly don’t mind my tax dollars funding the program. But then, I’m still hoping we reopen the production line for our once promised 750 Raptors.

20 receivers is an upgrade of 300% from 5 receivers, not 75%. Math is hard.

Can’t wait for the f35 to arrive in my country, Belgium. Normally this year the first few should arrive, finally. Hopefully they will also have some of these upgrades although I doubt it.

Are they retrofitting all of the older models?

Love your content, nice to hear someone speak about our military with such enthusiasm & knowledge. Thanks for sharing bro.

What's funny is that 35x to 75x process power increase isn't all that impressive if you look at a processing power chart (general compute). Given they probably spec'd those 20 years ago to where we are now .. passmark has the avg desktop compute score having increased ~77x (as in, an avg 2023 CPU can do 77 times a 2005). Obviously they're not going to be slapping a desktop processor in there, but these things tend to scale together because it's more about the advancement on the manufacturing nodes.

The GE engine is the real story i cant believe that there considering P&W

Want to make it a pure AWACS? Shove its payload full of tanks, and its beast mode full of drop tanks.

Fuel economy Range needs to be increased.

Can the F-35 fulfill air superiority, interception, and CAS roles? Curious. Thanks.

As a tech enthusiast this is cool. As an aircraft mechanic, I still mock the jet for its poor performance and the idea they tried to use one airframe with 3 variations for multiple purposes. An aircraft that is designed for everything does it all mediocre. The only good thing is the tech, they tried to make the thing do too much.

I'm well pleased that the government is upgrading the F22 Raptors and the F35 along with a few more of the fighter jets.

Thank you for sharing 🎖️🏆🇺🇲🙏

Is this upgrade across the 3 variant? A, B & C?

This is like people being orgasmicly stoked about a Windows update from 10 to 11. 🙄 How amazing!!!!!

Very well stated. They need to update a near maintenance free stealth coating system of which I am familiar with, that would be awesome.

Ok distributed aperture/distributed aperture on fighter planes is kind of cool… Same stuff as SARSat and imaging black holes. That’s just a massive win.

@5:38 Not so good with math and percentages there Alex? "20 is a 75% increase over today's 5" Are today's 5s not the same absolute value as tomorrows 5s? Where I'm from 20 is a 400% (edit: 300% - As corrected by Joshua - I'm tarded too) increase over 5.

Nothin but us humming birds flying at mach 2 lol

I'm glad we're protecting ourselves against theoretical enemies instead of fighting hunger in schools.

The people of Switzerland approved & can‘t wait! 🇺🇸 🤝🇨🇭

Over a year and still waiting for the F-35 “Monster Upgrade”

Agile development is expensive initially but the benefit of using this way to manage fighter manufacture provides so much data and future ability to produce far faster and far more effective systems. The knowledge and capability increases not just for the f-35 but any future fighter jets that can far faster develop in the future rather than starting from scratch. People just do not realise this. The cost of future fighters are already going to be cheaper because of the data gathered from the f-35 programme. Many existing jets will also utilise the benefits developed with the f-35 programme (e.g stealth coating being one) GE sounds amazing 20-25% increase in thrust and distance thats impressive! When your hear about new tech like fluidic thrust vectoring on the NGAD and self repairing systems & wings that are modular and adaptable with multiple system built into the wing (sensors, Stealth, Comms, Energy weapons, scanning, Optical data recognition, Laser weapons internal weapons systems with AI able to take control of the fighter or a person remotely its feels like star trek technology!