Does American military equipment come with a kill switch?

Question

The UK and Europe buy a lot of military equipment from the USA, they're actually contracted to do it as part of the NATO agreement. Rising tensions between Europe and the USA have raised concerns about getting spare parts and maintenance for equipment.

There are also online rumours a lot of it comes with built-in kill switches so America can render it useless. The USA denies this, but they would, wouldn't they?

OneViewpoint · Accepted Answer

I posted on this subject a couple of weeks ago. Forget the "kill switch" conspiracy theory nonsense. The EU and UK and Canada, and Australia, and Saudi Arabia, and Turkey should cancel all of their weapons purchase contracts with US defense industry corporations as soon as possible and practical. Taiwan is screwed like Ukraine.

1.) The "Kill Switch" sits in the White House currently. tRump has proven with Ukraine that he will absolutely use US armaments a bargaining chip in the middle of an existential war. He will shut off funding, weapons shipments, spare parts, maintenance, and training. The USA cannot be trusted when your lives are on the line. We are now the equivalent of organized crime complete with protection rackets and shakedown schemes. That is our new morality and ethics under fascist rule.

2.) The USA is a monument to toxic Capitalism gone wrong. At the root of the Oligarchs who have corrupted our government and overthrown it from within is our "Military Industrial Complex" just as Dwight D. Eisenhower warned us in the post WWII cold war era. The man was a visionary. We run this country off the profits from constant wars. If you want to hurt the USA, stop buying weapons from us. Hurt these defense corporations. Starve them of the cash they crave.

3.) Raise the cost of weapons development for the USA. Right now, the US government depends on foreign weapons sales to help defray the cost of constant development and create economies of scale in production. That keeps our costs down. Take that away. Make the US eat all of the development costs and shrink production to US needs only.

Economic warfare. Tariffs, arms sales, not honoring treaties like the Paris climate accords, not honoring nuclear arms deals with Iran, and threatening to back out of NATO. We have just shown you we are absolutely willing to go there with enemies and allies alike. It's the new battleground. Keep buying from the US at your own peril. Either make yourselves vulnerable to our protection racket or take control of your own destiny.

And by the way. Our current US government is closely aligned with Vladimir Putin's Russia, your neighbor to the east. Ya might want to factor that into your planning.

ohsheeT · Accepted Answer

Yes they are all the leaders of every country the people don't then them because we are not that un less backed in to a corner. Satin him self sends every leader a big boss kit. It comes with Ego.. it comes with Greed a blue print of 101 ways to take money from your county 101 free lie to tell the people 101 truths. Of what people want to hear.. and there own kill switch. 7 a book on making your right hand man Healthy rich.

By Firing all the government officials and social security All government agencies and then Then let the government buy all new inproved Ai to run the government. That's just here in America. Each country can do whatever they want is volume as long as the leader is making money off of it

FreyaRed · Accepted Answer

HMS Sheffield was sunk while Falkland war by Argentinian exocet missile that was programmed to deliberate miss NATO ship radars. I think it was first hack of a weapon system.
Maybe we should remove US firmware and replace it with new one. It works for sat receivers or smartphones, why not for cruise missiles and missile artillery.

alice55 · Accepted Answer

100 % true, those people are bakcstabber, theyre not our friends, theyre just puppet master. I long for the day Trump actually remove America from Nato so we can be free and safe from their tyranny

abc3643 · Answer

Wow, personally, I would design the systems to have kill switches, I do not believe that they do. The reason is that the buyers are sufficiently intelligent to recognize when it kills which exists and would no longer make the purchase. As for MATO members, I strongly believe no such kill switch exists. However, with non-aligned customers such as Saudi Arabia and, previously, Iran, I could believe a kill switch would exist however I do not believe that they do for the reason I stated.

Another reason to kill switch likely doesn't exist is that it would have to be engaged remotely and protecting that he's not difficult. Also, sufficiently intelligent source would likely be able to reverse engineer the avionics and remove the kill switch.

Finally, in a way there's no need for kill switches, because the US who just refrain from selling spare parts. This is why Iran's at F-14s can not fly indefinitely and may all be grounded by now..

mstbooblover · Answer

Being not competent in that field and missing correct informations and evidence, it's difficult for me to know the truth. Odds are still very high, in my opinion, that American military have or can hinder seriously the use of high technological and electronic equipment involving for instance jet fighters. The first problems that I can think of are spare parts, software updates and maintenance in general.

It is not wise on behalf of European countries to purchase equipment in the US while most can be found very nearby in for instance France and Sweden.

DJB72 · Answer

I seem to dimly recall heavy damage being caused during the Falklands War to British ships and installations by missiles the Argentinians had bought from British suppliers during their build-up to invading the islands.

It would make sense if the Americans built a kill switch into the stuff they sold Europe and NATO.

So far it looks like they learned about not letting their reporters broadcast live from bases - especially mobile ones - the way the BBC did at the start of the 1982 conflict. The Argentine forces just tuned into the BBC World Service to find out where to attack.

Maybe they learned something about not getting shot too.

Jersey2 · Answer

It makes some sense that they do given that Iran still uses our old jets from the days of the Shah and airfields can get overrun and equipment captured.

But they would have to know how to fly these complicated jets (look how long it is taking Ukraine to learn F-16s, now think about F-35s!) and getting parts for them would be very difficult thus leaving them on the ground.

So those last two points I mentioned makes for effectively what is a “kill switch”. I checked AI, and nothing was found on a kill switch, just rumor.

ProbablyClueless · Answer

No, that's not true. That would make the equipment vulnerable to enemy tampering. Leaving all the shit we did to the Taliban would have been less of an issue if that were true.

The closest thing American equipment comes to having a kill switch is insanely technical proprietary maintenance.

There are some pieces of equipment like landmine dispersing rockets that have time limits for how long they remain active after deployment, but that's not a kill switch in the sense you're asking about.

D_Bone_Steak · Answer

Myth. Ex military and I have never seen that. If you do get compromised, and you're in a situation where they're going to get their hands on some shit, you're expected to destroy it... just like those dudes did for Hillary Clinton's Cell phones and computers.

Douglas1180 · Answer

Perhaps just as interesting is the fact that the 2nd amendment was created because the Founding Fathers recognized that a militia could act as a final check against a tyrannical government. While American citizens own billions more bullets than their government, they do not possess tanks, fighter jets, drones, advanced surveillance, nor highly trained special forces and logistics networks. The notion of civilians standing against such an advanced big brother raises serious challenges.

Dargil · Answer

Does American military equipment come with a kill switch? I like the question. Not bad. I think that major equipment should have been fitted with GPS trackers, like rental cars, so we could send in airpower and destroy it. Tp me, thats a no brainer.

DryGermanGuy · Answer

I think it’s not to be taken literally. But a modern system like the F-35 becomes useless quickly, if cut off from software updates and maintenance parts. So why risk it?

jshm2 · Answer

Yes. Just like Apple, Android and Windows can "kill" their software.

But in most cases it's not so much a "kill switch" as it is they can refuse to update or allow access to critical software needed to run aircraft, missile systems etc.

Things that run on chips and software are what they are talking about.

integrale77 · Answer

No kill switch as such but if the equipment is complex enough like the F35 then support is heavily tied into companies and branches of the military that answer to the US which means support can be withdrawn making equipment useless very quickly!

jjr23 · Answer

doubtful biggest deterrent is not providing service or spare parts but i believe some places to vulnerable to coups should have them. like Afghanistan. f 16s and f 35s should have been sent to destroy the rows of equipment left. if the commander in chief was awake he could have ordered troops to caravan then over border and use choppers for air cover but he have to think clearly which he was incapable

AyChingao · Answer

If it does that might also be viewed as a vulnerability to a clever coder who's aware of it. And you've got the hardware in your hands for inspection, so...

QuestionObsession · Answer

NATO must be disbanded as it should have been when the Society Union broke apart. But the west kept expanding and betrayed Russia. The whole thing is controlled by the military industrial complex who want NATO to make their billions in sale.

War pigs to no end!

Anonymous · Answer

US defence companies basically own most or part of British and German defence companies and are largely dependent on the US. Could Germany or Britain field say their leopard or challenger tank without the US? How about the Eurofighter?

Pohjolan · Answer

Not really. However there are varying degrees of dependence even with the same weapon system like some users have a deeper access to F-35:s systems and software than others.

A ATACMS doesn't care about who is the president but Starlink could be shut down because Elon forgot to take his medication.

AviatorTom · Answer

There are no kill switches, no backdoors. If there were, they could be used by an enemy. It would be very dumb to build in a kill switch.

IslaTheWitch · Answer

American or any other equipment parts are still produced on Taiwan or China... I wouldn't worry about the parts too much :D

masterSir · Answer

Most stuff I'd say no. But I would not 100%. The US is very particular on who gets the F35 jets. But there area few current allies that have in the past started world wars. Soooo, maybe.

LEGENDARY4200 · Answer

Depends on what equipment you're referring to, a majority of weapons don't have. Those with icbm"s are a different story

Spencer10 · Answer

Unknown. But if you are thinking of ordering F35s or other advanced systems is it worth the risk to find out?

Ironco · Answer

We only sell our sloppy seconds, you're not getting our top of the line stuff.

robocop666 · Answer

The US military are meant to be shite and I heard this from more than one person who worked with them.

shortster · Answer

Nope, but France and England have little to worry about. France being our oldest ally and England being our nationality cousins. Germany, on the other hand, best mind their Ps and Qs.

Peggee4U · Answer

For reasons best known to himself, P Trump seems to be alienating all of the USA's most important friends and allies.

The modern world is too complex for any one country (even the mighty USA) to stand alone

douride2 · Answer

One never really know for sure which if any of those conspiracy theories are true or false.

noohair · Answer

Why would anyone have weapons that can be turned off with a hack from their enemy?

exitseven · Answer

The kill switch is what makes it work

jahaims · Answer

It depends on the equipment

bralesswonder · Answer

I think it's more fact than fiction.

Does American military equipment come with a kill switch?

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