Germany May Refuse F-35 Purchase over ‘Emergency Switch;’ Consider Eurofighter Instead
www.defensemirror.com
According to reports, a software back-door switch will turn the aircraft off if the client state does not follow Washington’s diktat in the use of the F-35.

I haven’t done adequate due diligence yet - could be inaccurate

I came across this article alleging that Germany is considering bailing on the F-35 aircraft because the US can remotely disable them.

If the US could do this to German F-35s, presumably they can do it to ours…

Additional reporting alleging concern in Canadian defence circles

  • nyan@lemmy.cafeEnglish
    3·
    1 day ago

    My understanding is that there’s some weird shenanigans going on with an encryption key or something of that ilk that has to be renewed daily from US servers for the aircraft to continue to function, but I’m not sure how reliable the source I got that from is. However, I wouldn’t buy F-35s either, if I were a nation-state shopping for aircraft.

    • kent_eh@lemmy.caEnglish
      4·
      1 day ago

      If true, that could be a massive problem if communications get damaged in a conflict, even if the US is not acting maliciously.

      • nyan@lemmy.cafeEnglish
        3·
        1 day ago

        I haven’t been able to identify the source from which I first got the information, unfortunately, but other stuff I’ve found while looking makes me think there may indeed be a comms issue: ODIN, the new software platform for these birds that’s now being put into production, is repeatedly described as “cloud-based”. That and one site’s cryptic reference to “F-35 crypto ignition keys” do not exactly inspire confidence in me. Or at least, if whatever I read first was a misinterpretation, I can kind of see where it was coming from.

        • kent_eh@lemmy.caEnglish
          1·
          3 hours ago

          Yeah, cloud based authentication (or features/functions) is a massive red flag for any piece of equipment that you need to rely on in changing and unpredictable situations.

        • uuldika@lemmy.ml
          1·
          20 hours ago

          crypto ignition keys (CIKs) are just setup tools to load bootstrap keys into a device.

          like, for instance, if you’ve just unboxed a secure telephone, there’s no keys in it, so you have to use a CIK to load keys/ciphers into the phone before you can make calls from it.

          the private sector doesn’t use them much, but NSA invented them and they’ve been a staple of IC infra for decades.

    • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
      41·
      1 day ago

      That seems like just a rumour, I doubt anybody would have accepted it. The software is written exclusively in the US and proprietary, though, including every update.