The American F-35s were unable to identify the Russian S-300s.

Pilots of American F-35 fighters, who were sent to patrol the airspace near the Russian border, encountered maneuvers of Russian S-300 air defense systems. As noted in the article, some fighters were unable to recognize objects near them due to digital masking methods used by air defense systems.

One of the commanders, Colonel Craig Andrle, complained that his fighter was unable to identify the S-300, although they knew that it was this particular complex. The second participant in the operation, Colonel Brad Bashor, noted that the F-35 pilots did not encounter provocations from the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Belarusian Air Force while patrolling the airspace.

“We observed the S-300, we knew that it was the S-300 air defense system, but my fighter could not identify it”- said one of the American pilots.

The US began moving NATO's eastern flank to eight of the latest F-35 fighter jets and three dozen AH-64 attack helicopters in February last year, following the start of a Russian special operation in Ukraine.