Recently, a set of photos taken from the deck of the U.S. Navy's USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier has caused a big stir among global military enthusiasts! In the photos, the F-35C stealth fighter jets, which the U.S. military is proud of, are covered with reddish-brown rust, looking like "second-hand goods" pulled out of a scrap yard. From the nose to the wings, the rust stains spread all over, setting a new trend in the "beggar-style" fashion. Even more amusingly, the adjacent F/A-18E/F "Super Hornet" is as white as if it had just taken a bath, shining proudly. This contrast makes the F-35C so embarrassed it wants to find a hole to crawl into. Netizens have jokingly said, "Did this plane fall into a septic tank and soak for half a year?"
Don't think this is the first time the F-35C has "embarrassed itself." As early as early 2022, a similar "rust incident" had already gone viral online. At that time, after a six-month maritime deployment, the F-35C's stealth coating had already been peeled off by the sea wind, revealing large areas of rust. This problem was not limited to one aircraft carrier; multiple U.S. Navy carriers had their F-35Cs affected, forming a collective tour of "rusted and bloated electricity." Netizens exclaimed, "This isn't a stealth fighter, it's a 'show-off'!"
Where is the problem? The F-35C's stealth coating is called high-tech, with core material being radar-absorbing materials containing ferrite. Sounds very advanced, right? But this thing has a fatal weakness — iron elements are a "rust accelerator" in the sea. High salt, high humidity, and high temperature marine environments cut the coating like "miniature scalpels," causing the ferrite to oxidize into rust within minutes, turning the fuselage into a "reddish-brown artwork." Not to mention the impact force during aircraft carrier takeoffs and landings and the friction from supersonic flight, making the coating as fragile as cookie crumbs, breaking off easily, and once broken, rusting and becoming useless.
The F-35C's stealth coating is not only a "beauty killer," but also a "performance killer." Once rust covers it, the efficiency of radar wave absorption drops sharply, and the so-called "stealth" fighter might directly "appear" on the enemy's radar. Moreover, when the coating falls off, the aircraft's surface becomes uneven, affecting aerodynamic performance, making it fly like dragging sandpaper while running a marathon, slow speed, and shaking like someone with Parkinson's disease. More absurdly, repairing this coating is harder than climbing the sky! There's no constant temperature hangar on the aircraft carrier deck, and technicians can only repair the paint under the sea breeze, with the paint falling off again before it dries, creating an endless cycle of "fixing and cracking."
U.S. military personnel complain, "Repairing the F-35C's coating is like painting an antique porcelain, requiring both the care of an artist and the mind of a chemist." Not to mention the cost — the repair cost per square meter reaches tens of thousands of dollars, and the maintenance cost for a single deployment easily exceeds millions of dollars. To save money, the U.S. military even lets the rust-covered F-35C "go on duty with problems," literally turning the "world's strongest fighter" into a "seaworthy scrap heap."
Facing this pile of "rusty trouble," the U.S. military and Lockheed Martin haven't thought of any solutions. Changing to ceramic-based materials? Developing nano-coatings? Even setting up temporary temperature-controlled cabins on the aircraft carrier? Sounds great, but either the technology is not mature or it's too expensive to make people cry. Worse still, the F-35C's coating is deeply integrated with the airframe design, making material changes not simple. The F-35 project has already burned billions of dollars, and the U.S. Congress won't dare to spend more money to fill this bottomless pit.
This awkward situation is not only about the F-35C, but also a reflection of the overall readiness of the U.S. military. Eleven aircraft carriers sound intimidating, but only four can be deployed globally, and even the 40-year-old USS Carl Vinson has to push forward to the front line. When the "world's strongest navy" can't even handle the coating of its stealth fighter, what is the so-called "technological advantage" starting to look like a "paper tiger"?
In contrast, China's "rust incident" of the F-35C is a living textbook for the opposite side. From the public images of the J-20, our country's stealth coating technology has taken a completely different path — no need for a constant temperature hangar, it can be maintained in ordinary environments, and can adapt to extreme conditions such as high altitudes and deserts. Not only is the cost low, but its wartime survival capability is also stronger. As experts said, "The core of a stealth fighter is not just 'stealth,' but also 'reliability.' While the F-35C shivers in the sea wind, the J-20 has already stably "laughed without saying anything."
The "rust incident" of the F-35C is still spreading online, and the U.S. military can only scratch their heads and admit defeat. This "maritime nightmare" of stealth coatings not only exposes technical flaws but also shows the shadow of the U.S. military hegemony "at its peak and declining." When the most advanced fighter jet becomes a laughingstock, it may be time to re-examine what real military power is. After all, the rust-stained F-35C might be better at "telling jokes" than any comedian.
Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7534621160483471926/
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