The control of the “blue line”

About a week ago it began to appear in specialized media a war legend that is repeated from time to time: the United States has a kind of Offer switch of the artillery that sells to the rest of the planet. The virality of the story was such that Washington has had to go out. Faced with lose miles of dollars now that Europe Talk about rearmathe nation has denied having something similar to that button in its F-35. The reality is that it does, although otherwise.

Europe and the exclusion of the US. To understand why the rhetoric of a hunt is important we must expand the geopolitical map. The European Union has launched the ambitious plan “European Defense Readiness 2030”With the aim of strengthening its defense autonomy, and does so through a significant Increased military spending and a drastic expansion of its industrial capacity to produce local weapons.

The initiative arises in a context of growing distrust of the United States, motivated by the signs of a strategic distancing from Europe, the volatility in the supply of weapons and the Trump decisions They have generated alarm among the allies. No doubt, this European turn towards arms protectionism could leave the United States out of billions of dollars in weapons sales contracts, as the new scheme exclusively prioritizes EU member countries and certain close partners, explicitly excluding both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Ukraine turned on the fuse. The decision is influenced, among other things, by the abrupt arms and intelligence towards Ukraine during Trump’s mandate, which has generated concerns about the reliability of the American commitment.

But there are more, since many of The reports that they have been moving these weeks have generated alarm by suggesting that the United States could have the ability to remotely deactivate armament high -tech as The F-35a fear fed by the operational dependence of these systems regarding the logistics, maintenance and software networks controlled by US contractors.

The “truth” of F-35. We tell it A week agobut we are going to expand the abilities that the United States has on the functions of the hunt. Both the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin herself They have categorically denied The existence of A “Kill Switch” (off button) in the F-35 that allows to deactivate it remotely, however, the operational reality of the system equivalent functionally to the same.

As? The logistics structure, maintenance requirements and, above all, proprietary software dependence It makes no country fully operate the F-35 without the constant support of the United States.

This restlessness, which began as a rumor in defense circles, has climbed to such an extent that the F-35 Joint Program (JPO) and Lockheed Martin were forced to Issue official statements To placate international concern, stating that all operators have the necessary capacities thanks to “well established agreements.” Again, these statements undoluntarily underline The central problem: The plane is not autonomous for those who buy it, and it only flies if the United States wants to do so.

A closed and controlled ecosystem. The F-35 is not just a combat plane, but a PSophisticated software canoformhighly dependent on a global support network controlled from the United States. Its operation It depends on systems such as Alis (Autonomic Logistics Information System) and its successor Odin (Operational Data Integrated Network), tools that not only manage maintenance and logistics, but also handle Critical information such as the Mission Data Files (MDF).

It is not a trivial theme. These files define from threat parameters to detection flight routesthrough the fusion of sensors and the electronic war. To get an idea, if a country loses access to Odin or stop receiving updates from its MDF, the F-35 remains practically useless or severely degraded in their operational capabilities. This makes any buyer the closest to a technological hostage of the United States unable to maintain total control of their fleet. The perfect example is understood with the so -called “blue line.”

The blue line. As we said, that “data package” of missions planning is a key factor for the survival of F-35. In fact, all this translates into a control of the called as “blue line” (The aircraft route to an enemy zone) projected by the system, which is based on the combination of numerous factorsfrom enemy air defense bubbles to the capabilities of stealth and electronic warfare of the aircraft, as well as the sensors and armaments on board, and the tactics integrated between the F-35 and other assets.

It is, at least, one of the most powerful weapons of the F-35, possibly the one that most. In other words, without the absolute control of the blue line, the combat plane and its pilot have little to do when they reach enemy areas, becoming vulnerable to detection and demolition.

A system designed for independence. All this leads us to a very simple simile. The logic behind the design of the F-35 is comparable to that of technological products such as the iPhone or the Tesla: complex, closed systems, whose repair or update is deliberately centralized. This implies that every time a critical component is damaged or an update is required, it is necessary resort to US contractors or personnel trained under American standards.

In addition, the supply chain involves more than 1,400 suppliers throughout the nation And only 80 in other eleven countries, which demonstrates the absolute dominance of the American industry over the product, even in its exported versions.

Billions at stake. With this map of the hunt we can get an idea of ​​the importance of the “trust” of the buyers. In essence, an authentic Fortuna for Washington in a global geopolitical context as unstable as unpredictable. Plus: Donald Trump’s choice, his antiglobalist rhetoric and his questioning of alliances such as NATO aggravated distrust. Governments begin to ask how sure their investment in a system that cannot be completely controlled and that, in a scenario of diplomatic tension with the United States, could stop working effectively.

Financial markets They have already started to reflect This strategic transformation. European arms manufacturers carry upward monthsdriven by the expectations of a greater local production of military material. In this way, time is still missing for the new European plan to translate into concrete weapons systems. Until then, the United States will continue to receive most of the European expenditure in defense, although more and more countries competition Like South Korea or even Türkiye. In the background, that “European Defense Readiness 2030” that could mark A turning point historical.

Image | PxhereLockheed Martin, USAF

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