Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II
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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 variant (CV) catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery (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 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18 Hornet, and the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II "jump jet", among others. Its development is primarily 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 Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, and formerly Turkey. 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. The decision to start manufacturing the aircraft while it was still in development and testing led to expensive design changes and retrofits. As of July 2024, the average unit costs (excluding the engine) are: US$82.5 million for the F-35A, $109 million for the F-35B, and $102.1 million for the F-35C. The F135 engine costs $20.4 million as of August 2025. The F-35 first flew in 2006; its variants entered U.S. service in July 2015 (Marine Corps F-35B), August 2016 (Air Force F-35A), and February 2019 (Navy F-35C). The aircraft first saw combat in 2018, during Israeli Air Force attacks on Syria. The F-35 has since been used in combat by the U.S. in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and Yemen; by Israel in Gaza, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen; and by the UK in Iraq and Syria. F-35As contribute to US nuclear forward deployment in European NATO countries. The U.S. plans to buy 2,456 F-35s through 2044, which will represent the bulk of its crewed fixed-wing tactical aviation for several decades; the aircraft is to be a cornerstone of NATO and U.S.-allied air power and operate until 2070.