20 | MANE AEROSPACE, DEFENCE & SPACE | SEPTEMBER 2017
The F-35:
Next Generation Stealth
WHAT IS IT?
A fifth-generation combat aircraft. The world’s most advanced multi-role fighter. Three main variants. 12 global participants including the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, or Joint Strike Fighter F-35, is a single-seat, single-engine stealth fighter developed from the X-35 concept and it’s a beast of a machine.
In 1997, Lockheed Martin was selected as one of two companies to participate in the Joint Strike Fighter concept work and in October 2001, the Lockheed Martin X-35 was awarded as the winner. Production of the F-35 began thereafter based on the X-35 concept. In 2006, the first production and test flights commenced and the first deliveries to participating nations began in 2011.
The F-35 is capable of entering areas without being detected by radar systems - something older fighters cannot evade. Additionally, the F35 provides an experience for pilot’s unseen in the past with a revolutionary Helmet Mounted Display System. The jet's airspeed, heading, altitude, targeting information and warnings are all projected on the helmet’s visor providing pilots with increased situational awareness.