Report: US Would Get ‘Big Surprise’ If It Tried F-35 Raid Against Russia in Black Sea | Farsnews Agency

(FNA)- The Pentagon would be in for a rude awakening if it attempted to launch a precision strike against Russia in the Black Sea region using its stealthy F-35 fighter jets, China’s Sohu web portal warned.

Pointing to Russia’s advanced regional air defense network, the outlet suggests that upgraded S-300PM-2 long-range air defense systems deployed in Crimea would come as a “big surprise” to any foreign jets violating Russian airspace, given their improved radar and ultrasensitive target detection and tracking systems, which enable them to search out stealth targets at distances between 200km and 250km – that is, beyond the range of F-35s’ onboard missiles.

“It is believed that in the near future, as the situation in Eastern Europe continues to heat up, NATO’s opportunities to deploy F-35s in warfare in the Black Sea airspace will appear more frequently,” Sohu notes.

However, “some analysts have pointed out that Russia’s 'talent' in response to the F-35s is already waiting … As soon as the American F-35s violate Russian airspace, they will be mercilessly shot down using these systems”, the outlet warns.

Russia, Sohu says, has built an extensive, air defense network in the Black Sea region to challenge US and NATO operational plans to strike at strategically important Russian cities in the area, with upgraded S-300s, S-400s and soon even the new S-500s expected to be stationed in the region to cool any hotheads at the Pentagon.