The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American, fifth-generation, all-weather strike-fighter built with stealth technology. Although it is an advanced combat aircraft, with a wide range of capabilities, it lacks the speed and maneuverability of the F-22 Raptor. The F-35 has been in service with the US Marine Corps, the US Air Force, and US Navy since 2015. It is also used by the British RAF and the Royal Navy, as well as by the Japanese, Polish, Israeli, and Australian Air Force. Since 2008, a total of 700+ Lightning II strike-fighters have been produced in three models: the F-35A conventional take-off and landing aircraft for the Air Force, and the carrier-based F-35B short take-off and vertical landing and the F-35C catapult-boosted take-off fighter for the Marine Corps and Navy respectively.
The Lockheed Martin's X-35 prototype had beaten the Boeing X-32 model in the 2001 bid competition for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program. Thus, this company was awarded the Department of Defense's contract to build the new stealth fighter aircraft for the US Air Force, US Navy and Marine Corps. The F-35B version of the combat aircraft was introduced into service with the US Marine Corps in 2015, while the F-35A entered service with the US Air Force in 2016 and the F-35C variant was accepted for duty with the US Navy in 2019. Thus, the new multirole fighter will replace all three AV-8B Harrier II, the F-16 Fighting Falcon, and the F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft. The Lightning II stealth fighter has already been used in combat by the Israeli Air Force in the Twelve Day War to attack land targets in Iran. Currently, it is being used to attack Hamas militant groups positions in Palestine.
Technical Characteristics
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a single-seat, single-engine jet monoplane of all-metal construction, using stealth materials and technology. The aircraft is fitted with trapezoidal mid-wing, whose trailing edge has a long aileron but no flaps. The tail assembly is unconventional as it consists of two fins set up obliquely on each side of rear portion of fuselage and two movable, triangular, horizontal planes separated from one another by the engine exhaust. The aircraft was designed to carry weapons internally for stealth. It is powered by one Pratt & Whitney F135 low-bypass turbofan engine, which was developed from the P&W F119 propelling the F-22 Raptor. It has two rectangular air intakes, one on each side of fuselage. The pilot has a helmet-mounted display, with three focal plane array sensors.
Specifications (F-35B STOVL)
Type: fifth-generation, stealth, strike-fighter
Length: 15.39 m (50 feet, 6 inches)
Wing Span: 10.66 m (35 feet)
Wing Area: 42.73 m2 (460 square feet)
Height: 4 m (13 feet, 4 inches)
Power Plant: one 42,075-lb-thrust, Pratt & Whitney F135 turbofan engine.
Maximum Speed: Mach 1.5
Combat Range: 1,112 km (691 miles)
Service Ceiling: 15,000 m (50,000 feet)
Crew: one
Armament: six AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles; two AGM-158 JASSM air-to-ground missiles; or two 907-kg JDAM guided bombs (munitions).
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| Front view of the F-35 in flight before it was accepted for service. |
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| Above, the prototype X-35 in 2008 flying over California. |
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| The short take-off and vertical landing version of the prototype X-35. |
