The F-35A Lightning II is a CTOL variant of this aircraft that redefines the meaning of air dominance for the US Air Force and its allies. An agile, versatile, high-performance multirole fighter, the F-35A combines 9g maneuverability with stealth, sensor fusion, and unparalleled situational awareness.
The F-35A has a sensor suite that is purpose-built to gather, fuse, and distribute more information than any fighter in history, providing unparalleled advantage over enemies. With the great onboard processing power and open architecture, highly sophisticated sensors, information fusion, and flexible communication links, F-35s have become irreplaceable in homeland defense, joint and coalition irregular warfare, and major combat operations.
Having realized that two-thirds of the aircraft’s life cycle cost goes to logistics support, great effort was paid to address each related factor in design. The F-35 can attain hitherto unimagined levels of reliability and maintainability, supported by a highly responsive support and training system integrated with the latest information technology.
At the heart of this support structure is the Autonomic Logistics Information System, referred to as ALIS. The ALIS draws together current performance, operational parameters, and configuration, together with scheduled upgrades and maintenance, component history, predictive diagnostics, health management, operations scheduling, training, mission planning, and service support for the F-35. In essence, ALIS monitors maintains, and prognosticates in the background to ensure the continued health of the aircraft, thereby optimizing both operational planning and execution.
The electronic sensors on the F-35 are supported by the Electro-Optical Distributed Aperture System-360° situational awareness for the pilots in terms of missile warning and aircraft warning, day/night vision. Targeting is enabled through the Electro-Optical Targeting System, extended range detection, and precision targeting against ground targets, with long-range detection of air-to-air threats.
The F-35’s HMDS stands for the most advanced system of its type, beaming all necessary intelligence and targeting information straight onto the pilot’s visor. This advanced system will ensure that pilots have all the information they need to complete their missions effectively.
It also features advanced tactical data links, allowing secure sharing of data among flight members and other airborne, surface, and ground-based platforms. Taken in concert with its commitment to common communications capabilities and web-enabled logistics support, this positions the F-35 as a leader in the development of a new level of coalition interoperability, and as a leader in the net-centric warfighting force of the future.
The F-35 has an engine that is thrusting 43,000 lbs. Specifically, this aircraft engine is made up of a 3-stage fan, a 6-stage compressor, an annular combustor, a single-stage high-pressure turbine, and a 2-stage low-pressure turbine. With such a formidable powerplant, superior aircraft performance is warranted in different combat scenarios.
It integrates mission systems to provide pilots with unparalleled situational awareness, positive target identification, and precision strike capability in all weather conditions while offering outstanding over-the-nose visibility for enhanced pilot performance.
Developed by nine countries United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Denmark, Norway, and Australia F-35 is an international cooperation model in a new format. This collaboration not only provides security for the U.S. and coalition partners well into the 21st century but also brings together strategic international partnerships to reduce redundant research and development costs while gaining access to global technology. The F-35 will also employ a range of U.S. and allied weapons, further cementing its status as a mainstay of air superiority in the modern era.