For years it was assumed that, in the White House, there was a red button capable of triggering World War III just by pressing it. Obviously, this button does not exist. But there is one that is equally surprising and pursued by the defense of the United States. This is the known as Kill Switch or Killer button.
The alarms regarding this button began to shoot behind Trump’s threats with respect to Canada, Greenland and after the withdrawal of military support to Ukraine. So much that the German authorities have shown concern about the possibility that the United States controls one of the newly acquired weapons by the country: The F-35, in fact, would have bought about 40 of these fighters through an agreement signed in 2022.
In one recent interview With the German magazine Bild, Joachim Schranzhofer, head of communications of the Hendsolt Armed Company, He declared that the alleged “emergency switch” installed in US F-35 is more than a simple rumor. The switch would allow to immobilize these fighters if they are used by enemy forces or against US interests. According to the publication, Wolfgang Ischinger, former president of the Munich Security Conference, and Ingo Gädechens, military ex official and member of the Christian Democratic Union Party (CDU) of Germany, also coincided in this opinion.
AND
The problem is that the most common F-35 model of Lockheed, The F-35A Lightning II is becoming a standard in NATO. So much that countries and Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Italy, Netherlands and Norway, have them. To these we must add the United Kingdom, Poland and Switzerland and more, such as Romania, they are joining.
Lockheed Martin acknowledged that f-35 fighters, like other Western combat planes, They depend on the communication of safe data from the USA with Link-16 and GPS satellite navigation.
For Mark Cazalet, chief editor of the European Security and Defense Magazine magazine, “The most relevant question for military strategists is whether the United States can effectively prevent the use of F-35 operated by other countries, if you decide. In this case, the answer seems to be mostly affirmative. ”
This switch, of which there is still no physical tests, would work using safe communications in the United States and a back door or specific code in the F-35 software. Thus, by pressing the correct keys, the flight capabilities of the hunt would be canceled.
A spokesman for the National Defense Department confirmed In a statement that the United States is in charge of the software and hardware updates of the aircraft and He affirmed that the updates would continue to all the countries that participated in their development.
Continuing with the key questions. Taking into account the current panorama, it is not unreasonable that, like the United States, it accuses China of introducing spy software in routers and devices manufactured in that country, Those responsible for defense, do the same, at least with the fighters. Is it impossible? No. Is it a real threat? Yes … but there is still no real evidence.