F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
| F-35 Lightning II | |
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| F-35A Lightning II | |
| Role | Stealth multirole fighter |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Martin Aeronautics |
| First flight | 15 December 2006 (F-35A) |
| Introduction | F-35B: 31 July 2015 (USMC) F-35A: 2 August 2016 (USAF) F-35C: 2018 (USN) |
| Status | In service |
| Primary users |
United States Air Force United States Marine Corps United States Navy See Operators section for others |
| Produced | 2006–present |
| Number built | 231 as of March 2017 |
| Program cost | US$1.508 trillion (through 2070 in then-year dollars), US$55.1B for RDT&E, $319.1B for procurement, $4.8B for MILCON, $1123.8B for operations & sustainment (2015 estimate) |
| Unit cost |
F-35A: $94.6M (low rate initial production lot 10 (LRIP 10) including F135 engine, full production in 2018 to be $85M)
F-35B: US$122.8M (LRIP 10 including engine) F-35C: US$121.8M (LRIP 10 including engine) |
| Developed from | Lockheed Martin X-35 |
| F-35B tests on USS Wasp in 2011 | |
 Short TakeOff
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BF-04 vertical landing
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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 Barrier 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 2,457 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.
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Wikipedia