Glossary: F-35 Fighter Jet

This glossary explains all technical terms and abbreviations used in the F-35 subject area.

Glossary

Term	Explanation
ACE	Agile Combat Employment — doctrine of decentralised, flexible basing of fighter aircraft at changing locations.
AESA	Active Electronically Scanned Array — radar with electronically steered beam. On the F-35: AN/APG-81 (current) and AN/APG-85 (planned).
AHP	Analytic Hierarchy Process — mathematical decision method that compares and weights criteria in pairs. Used by armasuisse for the fighter jet evaluation.
Air2030	Federal armament programme for renewing air defence (fighter jets + ground-based air defence). Approved by voters on 27 September 2020 with 50.1 %.
ALIS	Autonomic Logistics Information System — the F-35's original maintenance and logistics system. Being replaced by ODIN.
AN/APG-81	Multimode AESA radar by Northrop Grumman, installed in the F-35. Can simultaneously track air and ground targets.
AN/APG-85	Planned successor to the APG-81 with greater bandwidth and higher resolution. Part of the Block 4 upgrade.
AN/ASQ-239	Barracuda — electronic warfare system (EW suite) of the F-35. Detects and classifies hostile emissions.
armasuisse	Federal Office for Defence Procurement — responsible for procurement, technology, and real estate of the DDPS. Conducted the fighter jet type evaluation.
Block 4	Next major software modernisation stage of the F-35; brings new weapons, sensors, and capabilities. Massively delayed.
Block-Upgrade	Software and hardware modernisation stage of the F-35. Switzerland has ordered Block 4 (TR-3).
BY2012	Base Year 2012 — baseline year for F-35 programme cost calculations at the Pentagon. All costs are inflation-adjusted to this year.
C-UAS	Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems — systems and concepts for drone defence.
CBO	Congressional Budget Office — non-partisan budget office of the US Congress. Produces independent cost estimates.
CPFH	Cost per Flight Hour — key metric for operating costs of a fighter aircraft.
DAS	Distributed Aperture System — six infrared cameras giving the F-35 a 360° spherical view.
DEW	Directed Energy Weapons — directed-energy weapons (lasers, high-power microwaves).
DSCA	Defense Security Cooperation Agency — US agency that approves and oversees FMS transactions.
EFK	Swiss Federal Audit Office — the supreme financial oversight body of the Confederation. Reviews the cost-effectiveness of armament procurements.
EOTS	Electro-Optical Targeting System — targeting system under the nose of the F-35 for air-to-ground attacks.
F135	F-35 engine by Pratt & Whitney. Single engine (single-engine design) with approximately 191 kN thrust with afterburner.
FCAS	Future Combat Air System — European future fighter programme (France/Germany/Spain).
FMS	Foreign Military Sales — US government programme for arms sales to foreign states. Switzerland procures the F-35 through this channel.
Full-Rate Production	Full-rate production — formal milestone from which the F-35 is manufactured in series without restrictions. Not yet reached as of 2026.
GAO	Government Accountability Office — US Government Accountability Office. Regularly publishes critical reports on the F-35 programme.
GBAD	Ground-Based Air Defence — ground-based air defence.
GPK-N	Control Committee of the National Council — parliamentary oversight body supervising administrative activities.
IAMD	Integrated Air and Missile Defence — networked air and missile defence.
IOT&E	Initial Operational Test and Evaluation — formal operational testing by an independent Pentagon test authority.
ITAR	International Traffic in Arms Regulations — US export control regulations for defence goods. Determine which technologies Switzerland may receive.
Kill Switch	Theoretical possibility that a manufacturer or supplier could remotely deactivate a weapons system.
Link 16	Standardised NATO data link for tactical data exchange. Not usable on the F-35 in stealth mode (reveals position).
LO / Stealth	Low Observable — stealth technology that reduces the radar cross section (RCS) through special shapes and coatings.
LOA	Letter of Offer and Acceptance — formal purchase offer from the US government in the FMS process. Contains price, delivery terms, and usage rights.
Loyal Wingman	Unmanned wingman aircraft that autonomously flies alongside manned jets and performs reconnaissance or combat missions.
LRIP	Low-Rate Initial Production — low initial production rate before full-rate production authorisation.
MADL	Multifunction Advanced Data Link — proprietary, eavesdrop-proof data link between F-35 aircraft.
Mission Capable Rate	Mission capable rate — percentage of the fleet that is mission-ready at any time. Historically below the 65 % target for the F-35.
MRO	Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul — determines the life-cycle costs of a weapons system.
ODIN	Operational Data Integrated Network — successor to ALIS. Cloud-based maintenance and diagnostics system.
Offset-Geschäfte	Offset deals — manufacturer's compensation obligations towards Swiss industry (at least 60 % of the purchase price).
PCL	Passive Coherent Location — passive radar system using existing transmitters (radio, TV, mobile networks) for tracking.
POGO	Project On Government Oversight — US watchdog organisation demanding transparency in defence procurement.
QRA	Quick Reaction Alert — permanent readiness of fighter aircraft for immediate scramble in case of airspace violations.
RCS	Radar Cross Section — measure of an object's detectability by radar. Smaller = harder to detect.
RUAG	Federal technology and armament group (now split into RUAG MRO and BEYOND Gravity). Responsible for Swiss Air Force maintenance.
SDD	System Development and Demonstration — main development phase of the F-35 programme.
SEAD/DEAD	Suppression/Destruction of Enemy Air Defences — suppression/destruction of enemy air defences.
Sensorfusion	Automatic fusion of data from radar, DAS, EOTS, and EW into a unified situational picture.
Single-Engine	Single-engine design — the F-35 has only one engine (F135). Offers no redundancy protection in case of engine failure.
TR-3	Technology Refresh 3 — hardware upgrade of the F-35 (new processor, more memory). Prerequisite for Block 4. Delayed multiple times.
USAF	United States Air Force — the air force of the United States; largest F-35 customer.
VBS	Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport — Switzerland's defence ministry.

List of Abbreviations

Abbreviation	Meaning
ACE	Agile Combat Employment
AESA	Active Electronically Scanned Array
AHP	Analytic Hierarchy Process
ALIS	Autonomic Logistics Information System
AN/APG-81	Multimode AESA radar by Northrop Grumman, installed in the F-35
AN/APG-85	Planned successor to the APG-81 with greater bandwidth and higher resolution
AN/ASQ-239	Barracuda
BY2012	Base Year 2012
C-UAS	Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems
CBO	Congressional Budget Office
CPFH	Cost per Flight Hour
DAS	Distributed Aperture System
DEW	Directed Energy Weapons
DSCA	Defense Security Cooperation Agency
EFK	Swiss Federal Audit Office
EOTS	Electro-Optical Targeting System
FCAS	Future Combat Air System
FMS	Foreign Military Sales
GAO	Government Accountability Office
GBAD	Ground-Based Air Defence
GPK-N	Control Committee of the National Council
IAMD	Integrated Air and Missile Defence
IOT&E	Initial Operational Test and Evaluation
ITAR	International Traffic in Arms Regulations
LOA	Letter of Offer and Acceptance
LRIP	Low-Rate Initial Production
MADL	Multifunction Advanced Data Link
MRO	Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul
ODIN	Operational Data Integrated Network
PCL	Passive Coherent Location
POGO	Project On Government Oversight
QRA	Quick Reaction Alert
RCS	Radar Cross Section
RUAG	Federal technology and armament group (now split into RUAG MRO and BEYOND Gravity)
SDD	System Development and Demonstration
SEAD/DEAD	Suppression/Destruction of Enemy Air Defences
TR-3	Technology Refresh 3
USAF	United States Air Force
VBS	Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport

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As of March 2026. All information is based on publicly available sources.