“The technology to bring all of that together into a single platform was beyond the reach of industry at that time.” “If you were to go back to the year 2000 and somebody said, ‘I can build an airplane that is stealthy and has vertical takeoff and landing capabilities and can go supersonic,’ most people in the industry would have said that’s impossible,” Tom Burbage, Lockheed’s general manager for the program from 2000 to 2013 told The New York Times. ![]() This helmet also allows the pilot to look directly through the aircraft, thanks to the F-35’s Distributed Aperture System (DAS) and suite of six infrared cameras mounted strategically around the aircraft. The cockpit of the F-35 forgoes the litany of gauges and screens found in previous generations of fighter in favor of large touchscreens and a helmet mounted display system that allows the pilot to see real time information. Lockheed Martin has developed a new internal weapons carriage that will eventually allow it to carry an additional two missiles internally. The standard weapons payload of all three F-35 variants includes two AIM-120C/D air-to-air missiles and two 1,000 pound GBU-32 JDAM guided bombs, allowing the F-35 to engage both airborne and ground-based targets. The F-35A also comes equipped with an internal 4-barrel 25mm rotary cannon hidden behind a small door to minimize radar returns. The aircraft can carry four weapons internally while flying in contested airspace, or can be outfitted with six additional weapons mounted on external hardpoints when flying in low-risk environments. of thrust with the afterburner engaged, capable of pushing the sleek but husky fighter to speeds as high as Mach 1.6. It uses a single F135 engine that produces 40,000 lbs. ![]() Popular Mechanics / John Batchelor Designed from the ground up to prioritize low-observability, the F-35 may be the stealthiest fighter in operation today. Necessary design changes over the years likely altered these original design plans. In fact, while the X-35 was still competing for the contract, many weren’t sure such an aircraft could even be built in significant numbers.Ī cross-section of the F-35 from the May 2002 issue of Popular Mechanics. While replacing all these aircraft with one plane would (theoretically) save money, the long list of requirements led to a landslide of expensive complications. And the new fighter had its work cut out for it-the Joint Strike Fighter needed to replace at least five different aircraft across all the different services, including the high-speed interceptor F-14 Tomcat and the tank-killing close air support A-10 Thunderbolt II. and Canada, the Joint Strike Fighter program quickly moved from its official proposal in 1995 to two competitive prototypes in 1997: Lockheed Martin’s X-35 and Boeing’s X-32. Navy, Air Force, DARPA, and soon, the U.K. With a laundry list of requirements from the U.S. It would also leverage the same stealth technologies found in the F-22. This new “Joint Strike Fighter,” Pentagon officials believed, would allow for streamlined logistical supply lines, maintenance, and training. In the May 2002 issue, Popular Mechanics explored the U.S. “In combat, situational awareness is worth its weight in gold.”īut for nearly its entire life, many have debated whether the F-35 is a game-changing platform or a case study in the excesses of the Pentagon’s weapon-acquisition process. “There has never been an aircraft that provides as much situational awareness as the F-35,” Major Justin “Hasard” Lee, an Air Force F-35 pilot instructor, tells Popular Mechanics. It’s why F-35s have come to be known as “quarterbacks in the sky" or “ a computer that happens to fly.” But it’s not the F-35’s firepower that really makes the difference, it’s the computing power. ![]() The F-35 can fly at speeds as high as Mach 1.6 and can carry an internal payload of four weapons without compromising its stealth. ✈ Don’t miss any of our best-in-class military and defense coverage. ![]() Ultimately, the F-35 fighter jet won the day, breaking down one of the world’s most advanced air defense networks and relaying the data to missile-packed fighters like the F-16. “On the last week of a Red Flag exercise we really throw everything we have at the Blue Force and replicate the toughest adversary possible,” says Travolis “Jaws” Simmons, commander of the 57th Adversary Tactics Group. Enemy fighters sporting the color schemes of Russian Su-30s began to close in. Soon, cockpit displays in each aircraft began to light up and alarms sounded, indicating that the formation was being painted by multiple radar arrays tied to surface-to-air missiles and inbound fighters. Play icon The triangle icon that indicates to play
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