Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

"F35" redirects here. For other uses, see F35 (disambiguation).

F-35 Lightning II
U.S. Air Force F-35A in flight over the coast of Florida
General information
TypeMultirole strike fighter
National originUnited States
ManufacturerLockheed Martin
StatusIn service
Primary usersUnited States Air Force
Number built1,000+[1]
History
Manufactured2006–present
Introduction date
  • F-35B: 31 July 2015 (USMC)[2]
  • F-35A: 2 August 2016 (USAF)[3]
  • F-35C: 28 February 2019 (USN)[4]
First flight15 December 2006; 17 years ago (2006-12-15) (F-35A)
Developed fromLockheed Martin X-35

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, supersonic stealth strike fighters. A multirole combat aircraft designed for both air superiority and strike missions, it also has electronic warfare and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities. Lockheed Martin is the prime F-35 contractor with principal partners Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems. The aircraft has three main variants: the conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) F-35A, the short take-off and vertical-landing (STOVL) F-35B, and the carrier-based (CV/CATOBAR) F-35C.

The aircraft descends from the Lockheed Martin X-35, which in 2001 beat the Boeing X-32 to win the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program intended to replace the F-16, F/A-18, and the Harrier jump jet, among others. Its development is principally funded by the United States, with additional funding from program partner countries from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and close U.S. allies, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Italy, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and formerly Turkey.[5][6][7] Several other countries have also ordered, or are considering ordering, the aircraft. The program has drawn criticism for its unprecedented size, complexity, ballooning costs, and delayed deliveries.[8][N 1] The acquisition strategy of concurrent production of the aircraft while it was still in development and testing led to expensive design changes and retrofits.[10][11]

The F-35 first flew in 2006 and entered service with the U.S. Marine Corps F-35B in July 2015, followed by the U.S. Air Force F-35A in August 2016 and the U.S. Navy F-35C in February 2019.[2][3][4] The aircraft was first used in combat in 2018 by the Israeli Air Force.[12] The U.S. plans to buy 2,456 F-35s through 2044, which will represent the bulk of the crewed tactical aviation of the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps for several decades; the aircraft is planned to be a cornerstone of NATO and U.S.-allied air power and to operate to 2070.[13][14][15]

  1. ^ Finnerty, Ryan (19 January 2024). "Lockheed completes assembly of 1,000th F-35". FlightGlobal. Archived from the original on 18 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b Drew, James (31 July 2015). "First operational F-35 squadron declared ready for combat". FlightGlobal. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020.
  3. ^ a b Insinna, Valerie (2 August 2016). "Air Force Declares F-35A Ready for Combat". Defense News.
  4. ^ a b Eckstein, Megan (28 February 2019). "Navy Declares Initial Operational Capability for F-35C Joint Strike Fighter". USNI News.
  5. ^ "F-35 Global Partnerships". Lockheed Martin. Archived from the original on 2 September 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  6. ^ Dudley, Richard (5 March 2012). "Program Partners Confirm Support for F-35 Joint Strike Fighter". Defence Update.
  7. ^ Pawlyk, Oriana (28 December 2020). "Key US Ally Declares Its F-35s Ready for Combat". Military.com. 10th paragraph. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  8. ^ Boehm, Eric (26 April 2022). "The $1.7 Trillion F-35 Fighter Jet Program Is About To Get More Expensive". reason.com. Reason. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  9. ^ Drusch, Andrea (16 February 2014). "Fighter plane cost overruns detailed". Politico. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  10. ^ Miller, Kathleen; Capaccio, Tony & Ivory, Danielle (22 February 2013). "Flawed F-35 Too Big to Kill as Lockheed Hooks 45 States". Bloomberg L.P.
  11. ^ Ciralsky, Adam (16 September 2013). "Will the F-35, the U.S. Military's Flaw-Filled, Years-Overdue Joint Strike Fighter, Ever Actually Fly?". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  12. ^ Ahronheim, Anna (22 May 2018). "IAF Commander: Israel First To Use F-35 Jet In Combat". The Jerusalem Post.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference FY2020_SAR was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ "US European Command/NATO May Have 450 F-35s by 2030". Aviation Today. 14 June 2021.
  15. ^ Drew, James (25 March 2016). "Lockheed F-35 service life extended to 2070". FlightGlobal.


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