November 6, 2021
Move Over, Super Hornets: The U.S. Navy Wants F-35C Fighters
The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet has serious potential vulnerability at a time of rapidly growing Chinese and Russian tactical strike capabilities.
by Mark Episkopos
Here's What You Need to Remember: That’s where the F-35C comes in. With an unrefueled combat radius of 670 nautical miles, Lockheed’s fighter reduces the potential for missiles like Tsirkon to threaten the Navy’s CSG’s whilst enhancing the formation’s battlespace persistence.
The Variants
Although commonly referred to in the singular, Lockheed Martin’s fifth-generation F-35 stealth fighter jet was designed as three separate planes, purpose-built to accomplish different tasks in three of the U.S. military’s service branches. The F-35A is a conventional take-off and landing variant that will replace Air Force’s venerable F-16 Fighting Falcon, while the F-35B is a short takeoff and vertical landing model tailored to the Marine Corps’ unique operating requirements. Finally, there is the F-35C: a catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery variant that is designed to operate from aircraft carriers as part of the U.S. Navy’s carrier strike groups (CSGs).
Enter the F-35C
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/move-over-super-hornets-us-navy-wants-f-35c-fighters-195719
