Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole fighters. The fifth-generation combat aircraft is designed to perform ground attack and air defense missions. It has three main models: the F-35A conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variant, the F-35B short take-off and vertical-landing (STOVL) variant, and the F-35C carrier-based Catapult Assisted Take-Off But Arrested Recovery (CATOBAR) variant. On 31 July 2015, the United States Marines declared ready for deployment the first squadron of F-35B fighters after intensive testing. On 2 August 2016, the U.S. Air Force declared its first squadron of F-35A fighters combat-ready.

The F-35 descends from the X-35, the winning design of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. An aerospace industry team led by Lockheed Martin designed and manufactures it. Other major F-35 industry partners include Northrop Grumman, Pratt & Whitney and BAE Systems. The F-35 first flew on 15 December 2006. The United States plans to buy 2,663 aircraft. Its variants are to provide the bulk of the crewed tactical airpower of the U.S. Air Force, Navy and the Marine Corps over the coming decades. Deliveries of the F-35 for the U.S. military are scheduled until 2037 with a projected service life up to 2070.

The United States principally funds the F-35 JSF development, with additional funding from partners. The partner nations are either NATO members or close U.S. allies. The United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, Canada, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Turkey are part of the active development program; several additional countries have ordered, or are considering ordering, the F-35.

The program is the most expensive military weapons system in history, and has been much criticized inside and outside government, in the U.S. and in allied countries. Critics argue that the plane is "plagued with design flaws," with many blaming the procurement process in which Lockheed was allowed "to design, test, and produce the F-35 all at the same time, instead of… [identifying and fixing] defects before firing up its production line." By 2014, the program was "$163 billion over budget [and] seven years behind schedule." Critics also contend that the program's high sunk costs and political momentum make it "too big to kill."

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 50.5 ft (15.67 m)
• Wingspan: 35 ftTemplate:EfnC is 51.5 ft (15.7 m) (10.7 m)
• Height: 14.2 ft (4.33 m)
• Wing area: 460 ft² (42.7 m²)
• Empty weight: 28,999 lb (13,154 kg)
• Loaded weight: 49,441 lb (22,426 kg)
• Max. takeoff weight: 70,000 lb (31,800 kg)
• Internal fuel capacity: 18,498 lb (8,382 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney F135 afterburning turbofan
  • Dry thrust: 28,000 lbf (125 kN)
  • Thrust with afterburner: 43,000 lbf (191 kN)

Performance

• Maximum speed: Mach 1.6+ (1,200 mph, 1,930 km/h) (tested to Mach 1.61)
• Range: >1,200 nmi (2,220 km) on internal fuel
• Combat radius: 669 nmi (1,239 km) interdiction mission on internal fuel, 760 nmi (1,407 km) for internal air to air configuration
• Wing loading: 107.5 lb/ft² (525 kg/m²; 745 kg/m² max loaded)
• Thrust/weight:
  
  • With full fuel: 0.87
  • With 50% fuel: 1.07
    
• Maximum g-load: 9 g

Armament

• Guns: 1 × General Dynamics 25 mm (0.984 in) GAU-22/A 4-barrel rotary cannon, internally mounted with 180 rounds
• Hardpoints: 6 × external pylons on wings with a capacity of 15,000 lb (6,800 kg) and two internal bays with a capacity of up to 5,700 lb (2,590 kg); total weapons payload is 18,000 lb (8,100 kg) and provisions to carry combinations of:
  • Missiles:
    
    • Air-to-air missiles:
      • AIM-120 AMRAAM
      • AIM-9X Sidewinder
      • IRIS-T
      • AIM-132 ASRAAM
      • MBDA Meteor (pending further funding)
    • Air-to-surface missiles:
      • AGM-88 AARGM
      • AGM-158 JASSM
      • Brimstone missile / MBDA SPEAR 2
      • SPEAR 3
      • Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM)
      • SOM
    • Anti-ship missiles:
      • Joint Strike Missile (JSM)
      • Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM)^[694]
  • Bombs:
    
    • Mark 84 or Mark 83 or Mark 82 GP bombs
    • Mk.20 Rockeye II cluster bomb
    • Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser (WCMD) capable
    • Paveway series laser-guided bombs
    • Small Diameter Bomb (SDB)
    • Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) series
    • AGM-154 JSOW
    • B61 mod 12 nuclear bomb

Avionics

• Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems AN/APG-81 AESA radar
• Lockheed Martin AAQ-40 E/O Targeting System (EOTS)
• Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems AN/AAQ-37 Distributed Aperture System (DAS) missile warning system
• BAE Systems AN/ASQ-239 (Barracuda) electronic warfare system
• Northrop Grumman AN/ASQ-242 CNI system, which includes
  • Harris Corporation Multifunction Advanced Data Link (MADL) communication system
  • Link 16 data link
  • SINCGARS
  • An IFF interrogator and transponder
  • HAVE QUICK
  • AM, VHF, UHF AM, and UHF FM Radio
  • GUARD survival radio
  • A radar altimeter
  • An instrument landing system
  • A TACAN system
  • Instrument carrier landing system
  • A JPALS
  • TADIL-J JVMF/VMF