Summary and what you need to know: Known for its stealth and precision, the F-35 can enter “Beast Mode,” greatly increasing its firepower. In stealth mode, the F-35 carries only 5,700 pounds of internal weapons to minimize its radar cross section.

– However, once air superiority is secured, the aircraft can deploy external hangers, increasing its payload to 22,000 pounds.

-This conversion allows the F-35 to carry up to 14 AMRAAMs and six 2,000-pound JDAM bombs, but at the cost of halving its range.

-Beast Mode ensures the versatility of the F-35, allowing it to dominate both initial stealth operations and protracted, high-intensity conflicts.

F-35 Beast Mode: Turning stealth into pure firepower

The F-35 is widely perceived as a sleek and sophisticated fighter jet, equipped with advanced features aimed at stealth and surgical precision. This general perception is well founded: in fact, the F-35 is a fifth-generation stealth fighter equipped with software that improves network connectivity and data sharing. Yet the general perception discredits the F-35 because of its versatility – and its ability to “roll up its sleeves.”

Remember that the F-35 is a multi-role fighter and can be converted into a simple bomb carrier if necessary. This reconfiguration is called “Beast Mode”.

Flight at full speed

Designed with stealth technology, the F-35 can penetrate contested airspace, remain undetected, and attack enemy targets—all before air superiority is established. In fact, the F-35 was expressly designed to establish air superiority first. And because the F-35 is designed as a stealth aircraft, concessions were made in its armament. To improve its stealth capabilities, the F-35 uses an internal weapons bay instead of external mounting points, which dramatically increase an aircraft’s radar cross-section. While the internal weapons bay provides better stealth for the aircraft, storage space in the fuselage is limited.

F-35 Stealth or Carry: Switch to Beast Mode

In stealth mode, when the F-35 carries weapons internally, the aircraft can only carry 2.6 tons of munitions. That’s the equivalent of either four AIM 120 AMRAAM missiles (for air-to-air missions) or alternatively – for hybrid missions – two AMRAAMs paired with two GBU-31 JDAM bombs. That’s not a lot of firepower – but the concession is worth it to gain stealth advantages.

However, once air superiority is established and an enemy loses its air defense systems such as anti-aircraft missiles and guns, sensors and interceptors, stealth mode becomes less relevant. And when stealth loses its importance, the F-35 can switch to “Beast Mode,” using its external hardpoints to maximize its firepower.

In Beast Mode, the F-35 can carry four times more ammunition than in Stealth Mode. With the external racks and internal weapons bay, the F-35 can carry 22,000 pounds of ammunition. That’s the equivalent of 14 AMRAAMs and two AIM-3x Sidewinder air-to-air missiles.

Or for hybrid missions, the jet can be equipped with two AMRAAMs, two Sidewinders and six 2,000-pound JDAM bombs. Indeed, the increase in firepower is considerable – although the F-35’s range is cut in half in Beast Mode – to just 1,400 kilometers.

It may seem counterintuitive to use the F-35, a fifth-generation jet/supercomputer, as a simple bomb transporter—a role that bulkier Cold War-era aircraft like the F-16 or B-52 are well equipped to perform. But considering that the F-35 program cost taxpayers $1.7 trillion, the idea of ​​using the jet model Only Securing air superiority at the first moment of a conflict becomes an offensive.

If you’re going to spend that much money on an aircraft, you might as well exploit it as much as possible – a sentiment embodied by the Beast Mode configuration. And for the U.S., which has a tendency to attack countries with rudimentary air defenses – and then stay there for decades-long occupations – the F-35 needs to be able to do more than just sneak around and take out air defenses in the early days of conflict.

About the author

Harrison Kass is a prolific writer on defense topics with over 1,000 published articles. He is a lawyer, pilot, guitarist, and professional hockey player and joined the U.S. Air Force as a student pilot but was medically discharged. Harrison holds degrees from Lake Forest College, the University of Oregon, and New York University. He lives in Oregon and listens to Dokken. Follow him on Twitter at @harrison_kass.

All images are Creative Commons.