Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter aircraft can be jailbroken “just like an iPhone,” the Netherlands’ defense secretary has claimed. Gijs Tuinman made the comments during a podcast interview after being asked whether the aircraft’s software could be modified by European forces without permission from the US should it withdraw as an ally.
“The F-35 is truly a shared product,” Tuinman told BNR’s Boekestijn en De Wijk show. “The British make the Rolls-Royce engines, and the Americans simply need them too. And even if this mutual dependency doesn’t result in software updates, the F-35, in its current state, is still a better aircraft than other types of fighters.” “If you still want to upgrade despite everything … you can jailbreak an F-35 just like an iPhone.”
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Source: The Register News
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