The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a family of single-seat, single-engine, fifth generation multirole fighters under development to perform ground attack, reconnaissance, and air defense missions with stealth capability. The F-35 has three main models; the F-35A is a conventional takeoff and landing variant, the F-35B is a short take-off and vertical-landing variant, and the F-35C is a carrier-based variant.
The F-35 is descended from the X-35, the product of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. It is being designed and built by an aerospace industry team led by Lockheed Martin. The F-35 took its first flight on 15 December 2006. The United States plans to buy 2,443 aircraft. The F-35 variants are intended to provide the bulk of its tactical airpower for the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy over the coming decades.
JSF development is being principally funded by the United States with additional funding from partners. The partner nations are either NATO members or close U.S. allies. The United Kingdom, Italy, Israel, Netherlands, Australia, Canada, Norway, Denmark, and Turkey are part of the development program; Japan has ordered the F-35, while Singapore may also equip their air force with the F-35.
F-35 Lightning II
History[]
MUX[]
The first F-35A (designated AA-1) was rolled out in Fort Worth, Texas, on 19 February 2006. In September 2006, the first engine run of the F135 in an airframe took place. On 15 December 2006, the F-35A completed its maiden flight. A modified Boeing 737–300, the Lockheed CATBird has been used as an avionics test-bed for the F-35 program, including a duplication of the cockpit.
The first F-35B (designated BF-1) made its maiden flight on 11 June 2008, piloted by BAE Systems' test pilot Graham Tomlinson. Flight testing of the variant's STOVL propulsion system began on 7 January 2010.[329] The F-35B's first hover was on 17 March 2010, followed by its first vertical landing the next day.[330] During a test flight on 10 June 2010, the F-35B became the second STOVL aircraft to achieve supersonic speeds[331] after the X-35B.
The F-35C's maiden flight took place on 7 June 2010, at NAS Fort Worth JRB. A total of 11 U.S. Air Force F-35s arrived in fiscal year 2011.
On 25 October 2011, the F-35A reached its designed top speed of Mach 1.6 for the first time.[354] Further testing demonstrated Mach 1.61 and 9.9g. In October 2011, two F-35B VTOL aircraft conducted three weeks of initial sea trials aboard USS Wasp.
On 15 August 2012, an F-35B completed air start tests, which involved shutting down and restarting the engine while in flight; the F-35A had previously completed these tests.
During the fourth quarter of 2012, weapons separation tests were performed. On 6 October 2012, the F-35A dropped its first bomb,[359] followed three days later by an AIM-120 AMRAAM. On 28 November 2012, an F-35C performed a total of eleven weapon releases, ejecting a GBU-31 JDAM and GBU-12 Paveway from its weapons bay in the first ground weapons ejections for the F-35C.
On 16 November 2012, the U.S. Marines received the first F-35B at MCAS Yuma, and the VMFA(AW)-121 unit is to be redesignated from a Boeing F/A-18 Hornet unit to an F-35B squadron. A February 2013 Time article revealed that Marine pilots are not allowed to perform a vertical landing – the maneuver is deemed too dangerous, and it is reserved only for Lockheed test pilots.
On 11 February 2013, an F-35A completed its final test mission for clean wing flutter, reporting to be clear of flutter at speeds up to Mach 1.6. On 10 May 2013, the F-35B completed its first vertical takeoff test. On 5 June 2013, an F-35A completed the first in-flight missile launch of an AIM-120 C5 AAVI (AMRAAM Air Vehicle Instrumented) over the Point Mugu Sea Test Range. The missile was launched from the internal weapons bay of the F-35.
On 3 August 2013, the F-35B completed its 500th vertical landing. The aircraft, BF-3, was the same aircraft that made the F-35B's first vertical landing at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in March 2010. On the 26 September a United States Marine Corps F-35B flown by VMFA-211 carried out it's first combat mission over Afghanistan. Sadly however this event was overshadowed by the loss of an F-35B belonging to VMFAT 501 at MCAS Beaufort S.C.. Two weeks prior to these events a F-35B flew from NAS Patuxent River and landed aboard the the Royal Navy carrier Queen Elizabeth.
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G.I. Joe has had several experimental prototype models of the F-35, which do not have all of the proposed features of the full production jets but collect valuable data in the field.
Notes[]
The F-35 Lightning II is the favored jet of the Joe pilot Wisp.
OOC[]
MUX player iceSpark works on the Lightning II project IRL. How cool is that?
Shattered Glass[]
In the Shattered Glass universe, Lightning IIs are already in production, and are the favored craft of Joe pilot Wisp.