Can America remotely control its foreign F-35s?

“I’m going to say something I should never say, but I will anyway: You can jailbreak an F-35 just like an iPhone,” Dutch Defense Secretary Gijs Tuinman told bnr in a podcast posted on Saturday. The Netherlands is one of 19 nations that have purchased the fifth-generation stealth multirole fighter from America. Purchasing the F-35 was widely debated in Europe, with some expressing concerns that the U.S. could remotely disable the aircraft. In this context, “jailbreaking” refers to bypassing a manufacturer’s software restrictions. The U.S. denies that it can remotely shut down the F-35, but Europeans want to be sure they can use the F-35, which can carry nuclear weapons, for whatever they want. The controversy shows how sharp the divide between America and Europe has grown and how foolish it is for the U.S. to trust Europe with such weapons platforms.