Epic Fury

A sledgehammer to crack a nut: Ex-fighter pilot's take on F-35 downing drone

F-35 v drone likened to sledgehammer cracking a nut

Adrenaline-fuelled and surreal.

That's the verdict of former fighter pilot Air Vice Marshal (Ret'd) Sean Bell, on the emotions likely flooding through the British F-35B pilot as he shot down a drone over Jordanian airspace.

It marks a historic moment in British combat history – the first time a UK-operated F-35B has fired in anger toward an enemy UAV during an active combat operation.

The fighter jet took off from RAF Akrotiri alongside two RAF Typhoons and a Voyager air-to-air refuelling aircraft, as part of our defensive operation to protect British interests and allies.

"The adrenaline flowing through that pilot's veins when he actually had to go and pull the trigger, watch something come off the aircraft and watch the target explode, that will have been a surreal moment for the pilot," AVM Bell told BFBS Forces News.

Speed also provides an additional challenge for pilots trying to engage a slow-moving target, he said.

"For a fighter jet, you know, you overtake it quite quickly. It's quite difficult to slow down enough to drop in behind it."

However, he did question the logic of using a state-of-the-art fighter jet to take out a slow, cheap drone, likening it to "using a sledgehammer to crack a nut".

Despite the capability being reassuring to British citizens and allies in the region, experts have questioned how sustainable it is to use F-35 jets to take down drones.

"Eventually, you've got to look carefully at the maths involved as to whether it's prudent to use a very expensive high-tech missile to shoot down a Shahed drone that probably only cost £10,000, £20,000," AVM Bell added.