The U.S. Air Force completed the inaugural flight of F-35 Lightning II, Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), successfully at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, Texas, which they considered the most comprehensive flight test program in the history of military aviation. The flight continued about 35 minutes and the F-35 was flanked by two F 16s and an F/A-18 as follow aircrafts.
The sneaky F-35 Lightning II basically is a supersonic, multi-role, 5TH Generation fighter intended to replace the F-16, F/A-18 Hornet, the Harrier and the A-10 aircrafts. The F-35 includes Pratt & Whitney F135 engine that easily may be reckoned as the most powerful engine ever used in a fighter aircraft.
Apart from United States eight other countries, including United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Australia, Denmark and Norway are the joint partners involved in the financial support and expansion of the F-35 and they have plans to produce about 4,500 aircrafts that may exceed even further on demand.
Currently three other versions, a conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) alternative for conventional runways, a short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) option for operating off small ships and near front-line combat zones, and a carrier variant (CV) for fling launches, of the F-35 are under development process as well.
Via: gizmag
