Dutch defense secretary: you can 'jailbreak' an F-35 like an iPhone

Dutch defense secretary Gijs Tuinman said the F-35 can be jailbroken "just like an iPhone," suggesting European militaries could potentially bypass Lockheed Martin and implement their own solutions. "The F-35 is truly a shared product. The British make the Rolls-Royce engines, and the Americans simply need them too," he added, before noting, "If, despite everything, you still want to upgrade—I'm going to say something I should never say, but I will anyway—you can jailbreak an F-35 just like an iPhone." His comments run against long-standing worries that the US could disable aircraft it supplies.

In one account, the head of comms at German contractor Hensoldt told Bild it was "more than just a rumor" that the US could activate a "kill switch" to ground foreign aircraft.

Netherlands

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