A USAF F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter in flight.
A shocking leak of documents related to the United States’ F-35 and F-15 fighter jets and some sophisticated weapon systems has been reported by media outlets.
According to a South China Morning Post (SCMP) report, the documents have been leaked by a person who claims to be a Russian pilot – who goes by the name ‘Figtherbomber’ on Telegram app.
The same report states that the name of the individual in question is Ivan Ivanov.
Moreover, the report also goes on to quote a Chinese information security expert stating that the documents “appear authentic.”
According to SCMP, the individual had released documents relating to the F-35 and other fighter jets used by the USA, and some drone and weapon systems on his Telegram channel on July 2.
Fighterbomber had also claimed through Telegram that he has more – up to 250 gigabytes – data of US military. The SCMP report states that he claims to have received the data from an American company.
While some of the data shared on the encrypted messaging service seems to have been deleted, a visit to Fighterbomber’s Telegram channel shows that some documents are available for download even at the time of writing this article.
Moreover, the channel has over half a million subscribers and it seems to have been posting content for a long time, mostly related to defense and military.
The SCMP report also mentions Tang, the chief marketing officer of Beijing-based antivirus and network security firm Rising Information Technology.
As per the report, Tang states that his firm downloaded and went through the data shared by Fighterbomber, and the content “appears to be highly authentic.”
The documents leaked on Telegram also contain some information about the Switchblade drone and some guided missile systems.
The network security firm official states that the true worth of the documents leaked online can only be assessed by defense personnel – who have a clear idea of what to look for.
However, others have pointed out that there is little to nothing in the documents which can benefit China, Russia or other nations with advanced technologies.
The US Air Force or any other department is yet to come out with a statement regarding the ‘leak’ of documents.
It remains to be seen whether it is really the result of a breach or if it is a compilation of declassified information which had been released earlier and is easily accessible.
Whatever might the reality be, but the documents have created a buzz amongst the online community – with some users joking that it would now be possible to make a fighter jet in a garage.
This is the not the first instance when reports of secrets related to US fighter jets leaking have made it to the headlines.
In January last year, restricted documents related to US military aircraft appeared in an online gaming forum – according to a report by Flight Global.
The leak, if it happened in reality, can dent the US’ warfare capabilities as it can reveal the trade secrets and also expose its weakness to the enemies, making it a worrying sign indeed.
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Abhishek Bhardwaj Abhishek brings a wealth of experience in covering diverse stories across different beats. Having contributed to renowned wire agencies and Indian media outlets like ANI and NDTV, he is keenly interested in Tech, Business and Defense coverage.
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