F-35 Lightning: The Joint Strike Fighter Program
Sep 15, 2022 04:56 UTC by Defense Industry Daily staff
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F-35B hover test external link
F-35B: off probation
September 15/22: Polish Training Poland is expected external link to be the first nation to train their F-35 pilots at Ebbing Air National Guard Base, the Arkansas Business said. The pilots and their aircraft is scheduled to arrive in Fort Smith in 2024 and the US Air Force is expected to build a F-35 simulator center at the base.
Keep reading for the whole story with recent events put in context
F-35B hover test external link
F-35B: off probation
The $382 billion F-35 Joint Strike fighter program may well be the largest single global defense program in history. This major multinational program is intended to produce an “affordably stealthy” multi-role fighter that will have 3 variants: the F-35A conventional version for the US Air Force et. al.; the F-35B Short Take-Off, Vertical Landing for the US Marines, British Royal Navy, et. al.; and the F-35C conventional carrier-launched version for the US Navy. The aircraft is named after Lockheed’s famous WW2 P-38 Lightning external link, and the Mach 2, stacked-engine English Electric (now BAE) external link Lightning external link jet. Lightning II system development partners included The USA & Britain (Tier 1), Italy and the Netherlands (Tier 2), and Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Turkey (Tier 3), with Singapore and Israel as “Security Cooperation Partners,” and Japan as the 1st export customer.
The big question for Lockheed Martin is whether, and when, many of these partner countries will begin placing purchase orders. This updated article has expanded to feature more detail regarding the F-35 program, including contracts, sub-contracts, and notable events and reports during 2012-2013.
The F-35 Lightning II Fighter Family
F-35 Family Variants: Door A, B, or C?
F-35A, F-35B, and F-35C Specifications
Figure 1: F-35 Variants.
The above table illustrates the key differences between the baseline F-35A, the Short Take-Off, Vertical Landing (STOVL) capable F-35B, and the catapult-launched F-35C naval variant. Additional explanations follow.
The F-35A CTOL
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