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A comment on An F-35 Pilot Explains Why the Jet's Bad Press Misses the Point. Parent comment

Re:An F-35 Pilot Explains Why the Jet's Bad Press Misses the... by kbenson on Wednesday June 02, 2021 @10:00PM (#27376377)
At least one reason might be backup communication when jammed. Line of sight might allow for direct laser communication (either to the piloted plane or a nearby relay to retain some stealth) in the case of radio spectrum jamming.

Another might be latency, if under active control. I imagine the purpose of the F-35 as a drone platform is less about active control and more about being a coordinator node though.

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Re:An F-35 Pilot Explains Why the Jet's Bad Press Misses the... by irateswami on Wednesday June 02, 2021 @10:05PM (#27376405)
> At least one reason might be backup communication when jammed. Line of sight might allow for direct laser communication (either to the piloted plane or a nearby relay to retain some stealth) in the case of radio spectrum jamming.

This is precisely why. Iran has shown that it can, on some level, interfere with long-range communications of drones. I'm sure the Chinese have even more such capability. Having a C&C platform within the same battlespace limits communication exposure.

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