The F-35 is meant to be a stealthy terror, not a locked-down gadget you cannot properly own and can be switched off at the whim of the US government.
This week, The War Zone says the jet’s “computer brain,” including “its cloud-based components, could be cracked to accept third-party software updates, just like ‘jailbreaking an iPhone.”
The site points to remarks aired on BNR Nieuwsradio’s “Boekestijn en de Wijk” podcast, where Netherlands, state secretary for defence, Gijs Tuinman has apparently been chatting about cracking the software cage.
TWZ notes, “Gijs Tuinman, who has been State Secretary for Defence in the Netherlands since 2024, does not appear to have offered any further details about what the jailbreaking process might entail. What, if any, cyber vulnerabilities this might indicate is unclear. It is possible that he may have been speaking more notionally or figuratively about action that could be taken in the future, if necessary…”
That is awkward, because the ALIS and ODIN network is not just a delivery pipe for updates and spares, it is where mission data packages get shoved in, and intelligence gets pulled out.
Those mission data packages include the juicy bits, like enemy air defences and other planning intel, which makes the whole setup feel less like ownership and more like supervised use.
Israel is the only country publicly known to have secured the right to install domestically developed software on its F-35Is, while operating outside the ALIS and ODIN setup.
TWZ says the comments “underscore larger issues surrounding the F-35 programme, especially for foreign operators,” and it flags the practical snag that the aircraft relies on a sophisticated mission planning data package.
It adds, “So while jailbreaking F-35’s onboard computers, as well as other aspects of the ALIS/ODIN network, may technically be feasible, there are immediate questions about the ability to independently recreate the critical mission planning and other support it provides. This is just one aspect of what is necessary to keep the jets flying, let alone operationally relevant.”
The War Zone also drags back last year’s noise about a discreet remote “kill switch”, saying, “Rumours of this capability are not new and remain completely unsubstantiated.”
Even without a magic off button, the jet’s dependence on US-centred maintenance, logistics chains, export controls and agreements with manufacturer Lockheed Martin gives Washington plenty of ways to make life difficult.
TWZ says, “At that time, we stressed that a ‘kill switch’ would not even be necessary to hobble F-35s in foreign service. At present, the jets are heavily dependent on U.S.-centric maintenance and logistics chains that are subject to American export controls and agreements with manufacturer Lockheed Martin.”
It adds that even the US military struggles with sourcing spares, and warns a cutoff would strand jets fast, with a later line noting a support break “would leave jailbroken jets quickly bricked on the ground.”
It points out that any attempt to crack the system could trigger legal action from Lockheed Martin and fresh political friction with the US government, which is a cracking way to turn an expensive fighter into a hangar ornament.
