In the early 2000s, Boeing and Lockheed Martin competed fiercely with each other to produce the next generation of Joint Strike Fighter-Aircraft. The two contenders for this prestigious contract were Boeing X-32 and Lockheed Martin X-35, and further development from the latter led to F-35 Lightning II.
The multi-role fighter jet Boeing X-32 had been developed to meet the various requirements of the U.S. military services. Boeing constructed two prototypes, the X-32A and the X-32B. These showed skills in terms of speed, weapons load, and take-off/landing performances. From September 2000 onwards, the X-32A conducted 66 flights over four months and also showed handling qualities, inflight refueling, weapons bay operations, and supersonic flight. Despite these, several major issues were found with the X-32.
One of the essential issues that existed with the X-32 had to do with its design. It was initially a delta wing that was replaced by a conventional wing. This conventional wing, however, remained on paper as well as mock-ups, which hurt Boeing’s competition. The X-32 prototypes were also heavy with a recorded 50,000 pounds and therefore had an issue when it came to their thrusts and efficiency about that of the Lockheed Martin x-35.
Whereas Lockheed Martin took a completely different approach: it presented only one versatile prototype, the X-35. This was to be both CTOL and STOVL. That immediately gave Lockheed Martin a few points of advantage in any competition. The design of this model featured a separate vertical-lift fan behind the cockpit which outperformed Boeing’s thrust vectoring nozzles.
In 2001, the Department of Defense awarded the JSF contract to Lockheed Martin, now called the F-35 Lightning II. The first F-35A test aircraft rolled off the production line in 2006, and by 2011, the Air Force began pilot and maintainer training at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Initial operational capability was achieved in August 2016 when Gen. Hawk Carlisle, commander of Air Combat Command, declared the jet “combat ready.”
The F-35A Lightning II is a fifth-generation fighter combining advanced aerodynamics with advanced survivability in high-threat environments, and increased situational awareness for pilots and allied assets. It acts as an unparalleled force multiplier, sharing information and situational awareness across operational domains. In 2017, F-35As proved their capabilities against multiple ground targets, undetected, and tallied a 20:1 kill ratio during air-to-air combat scenarios at the Red Flag 17-1 combat training exercise.
Even after such a great performance by F-35s, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein made it very clear that one should think of the aircraft in the context larger system network. The F-35 will never operate in a stand-alone environment, he said, It will always operate as part of a team: other aircraft like the F-22, and F-18, space capability, cyber, and coalition partners. Their multi-domain, multi-component approach is supposed to create scores of dilemmas for adversaries, serving as a deterrent.
The F-35 has been in development with partner nations United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, Italy, Turkey, Denmark, Norway, and Australia international model of cooperation that advances operational familiarity for allies and saves costs and training.
Although the Boeing X-32 did not win the JSF contract, the company quietly took its defeat and later used lessons learned to further develop other projects like the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet and the X-45A Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle. Competition between the companies provided a better design and better performance by Lockheed Martin in the F-35 Lightning II, continuing to drive progress by the fervor of military aviation competition.