I haven’t done adequate due diligence yet - could be inaccurate

I came across this article alleging that Germany is considering bailing on the F-35 aircraft because the US can remotely disable them.

If the US could do this to German F-35s, presumably they can do it to ours…

Additional reporting alleging concern in Canadian defence circles

  • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
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    5 hours ago

    No, in that situation we just wouldn’t do an update. I’d be more worried about a backdoor that’s triggered by not updating for an extended period, maybe along along with a few other hints, and was actually made with the possibility of the Iranians capturing an F-35 in mind.

    More like, it’s a year from now and Trump decides to take his ball and go home, so he directs the NSA and DIA to build an update that will brick planes which aren’t parked in one of his favoured countries, after a delay of about a month to ensure he gets as many as possible.

    • Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works
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      3 hours ago

      At which point you would roll back to the previous firmware, because of course we’re going to keep copies. This sounds like a horrifically ineffective plan. We’re certainly better off having fifth gen fighters with that incredibly minimal risk attached than we are with fourth gen fighters that are completely outclassed.

      And again, if we’re at the point where potential hostilities are close enough that a one month timebomb could matter then we’re at the point where we’re not loading any software the US sends us.

      The far more meaningful risk here is that they can simply stop giving us new parts and software updates. That’s actually a real and valid concern.