F-35 Lightning II

F-35 Lightning II

Lockheed Martin's stealth-capable, single-seat F-35 Lightning II strike fighter is currently under development as part of the Joint Strike Fighter program and is scheduled to be introduced in 2010.¹ The F-35 is primarily being funded by the United States with additional funding coming from the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Turkey, Australia, Norway and Denmark.²

Fast Facts

Development began: November 1996³
Produced by: Lockheed Martin with Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems²
First flight: December 15, 2006¹
Unit cost: $28-38 million, in 1994 dollars, depending on the variant⁴
U.S. Air Force plans to have 2,036 F-35s⁴
U.S. Marine Corps has requested 642⁴
U.S. Navy has ordered 300⁴
Capable of close air support, tactical bombing and air-to-air combat¹

Brief History

The development of the F-35 began in 1996 when Lockheed Martin and Boeing were awarded contracts to build demonstrator aircraft. Lockheed Martin's fighter was deemed superior to the Boeing aircraft, and in 2001, a team led by Lockheed Martin was chosen to build 22 F-35s.⁵

Variants

The F-35's are being made with three variations. The F-35A is a Conventional Take-Off and Landing aircraft (CTOL) for U.S. Air Force air to ground strikes. The F-35B is a Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) aircraft for the U.S. Marine Corps. The F-35C is a Carrier Variant (CV), first-day-of-war strike fighter for the U.S. Navy.⁶

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The Mahalo Top 7

Official Site: F-35 Lightning II Program
Wikipedia: F-35 Lightning II
Lockheed Martin: F-35 Lightning II Product Page
Federation of American Scientists: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
GlobalSecurity.org: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
Global Aircraft: X-35 Joint Strike Fighter
YouTube Video: F-35 Lightning II (Time 7:25)

F-35 Lightning II Background and Information

Aerospaceweb.org: F-35 Lightning II Multi-Role Fighter
Airforce Technology: F-35 lightning II - Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)
In The Public Domain: The Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)
National Review Online: Meet the New F-35 Lightning II (January 15, 2007)
DCMilitary.com: Chief Test Pilot Gives Brief on F-35 (January 11, 2006)
Military Power Review: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (2006)
Northrop Grumman: F-35A Lightning II (CTOL)

F-35 Lightning II News and Articles

Star-Telegram.com (Fort Worth, TX): As One F-35 Backer Wavers, Another... (May 30, 2008)
AvioNews: Lockheed Martin Receives USD 2,2 Billion for F-35 Lot 2 Production... (May 29, 2008)
United Press International: Lightning II Starts Stovl Tests Next Year (May 1, 2008)
Lockheed Martin: F-35 Succeeds in First Aerial Refueling Test (March 13, 2008)
SFGate: Jet Fighter Costs to Hit $1 Trillion (March 1, 2008)
Reuters UK: Key Lawmakers Predicts 2nd F-35 Engine Will Survive (February 13, 2008)
The New York Times: Painting a Rosy Picture of a Costly Fighter Jet (June 22, 2007)
Air Force Link: Researchers Fine-Tune F-35 Pilot-Aircraft Speech System (October 15, 2007)
Defense Industry Daily: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter: Events & Contracts 2007 (updated)

F-35 Lightning II Blogs and Commentary

Scientific Blogging: The F-35 Lightning II Gets Its First Military Test Pilot (February 1, 2008)
The Weekly Standard Blog: Air Show or Art Show? (June 20, 2007)
Skycontrol: F-35 Lightning II Posts
Air-Attack: F-35 Lightning II Posts

F-35 Lightning II Images

Official Site: F-35 Lightning II Photo Gallery
Lockheed Martin: F-35 Lightning II High Res First Flight Photos
Flickr: F-35 Lightning II Photos
Live Search Images: F-35 Lightning II Photos
Google Images: F-35 Lightning II Photos

F-35 Lighting II Videos

Google Video: F-35 Lightning II Videos
Clipstream Video: Joint Strike Fighter Video Demonstration (Time 8:15)
Metacafe Video: F-35 Lightning II First Flight (Time:1:34)
Metacafe Video: F35 Lightning II Video (Time 4:29)
YouTube Video: F-35 Lightning II in Production (Time 7:25)
YouTube Video: F-35 Lightning II (Time 2:53)

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