Jim Molan queries Australia’s new strike fighter jets, the F35

Jim Molan has warned the New Australian F35 fighter jets will not be able to outrun Russia’s SU-57 planes.

The new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Picture: AAP

New Liberal senator Jim Molan, a former high ranking army officer has queried the ability of Australia’s new strike fighter the F-35 to fight Russian built fighters at supersonic speed, and high altitudes north of Australia.

Senator Molan who was also a military pilot posed a hypothetical case of Russian built Su-57 and Su-35S fighter jets confronting Australia’s likely fleet of aircraft including the F-35 aircraft about 800 nautical miles north of the mainland.

In Senate Estimates yesterday, Senator Molan produced a diagram to support the scenario but did not reveal its author. It suggested the Russian-built jets were ­superior to the F-35s in altitude performance and in having the ability to undertake “super cruise” or sustained supersonic flight without using afterburners.

Referring to the diagram, he said it “indicates there is an altitude deficiency between what we are buying, the F-35s, and what the person who constructed this diagram believes the Su-57s and 35s have”.

“It implies a speed element in that the super cruise of the opposing forces will lessen the ability of missiles and it implies judgment about the impact of missiles,’’ ­Senator Molan said. However, Chief of Defence Mark Binskin, while acknowledging that the Australia F-35s would not have super cruise, described the concept put forward by Senator Molan as simplistic.

“Is there a relevance in a deficiency between height capabilities (of the aircraft)?” Air Chief Marshal Binskin said. “Is there any truth in that? I mean, if you have an aircraft that can go up higher and faster, some would say it just runs into your missile quicker, but that is being overly simplistic.’’

Air Chief Marshal Binskin, a former fighter combat instructor, said Senator Molan’s diagram had wrongly classified the F-35 in several areas. “It indicates the F-35 would only fly to 35,000 feet and that’s wrong. Does the F-35 have super cruise? No it doesn’t. Does it have better radar cross-section? Yes it does ... it might not be up there at that height and speed, but it’s going to get earlier detections to be able to employ its weapon.”

He said: “In simplistic terms, where did (the enemy) come from — 800 miles away? Would we sit there and let them? There are so many what-ifs.”

China last year was reported to have taken delivery of four Su-35 aircraft from Russia. Russian media has been calling the fourth-generation SU-35 the “Russian UFO” due to its ability to turn 360 degrees in the horizontal plane without losing speed.