five reasons why the f-35 is the world's best fighter jet
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the lockheed martin f-35 lightning ii is an american family of single-seat single-engine
all-weather stealth multi-role combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority
and strike missions it is also able to provide electronic warfare and intelligence
surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities lockheed martin is the prime f-35 contractor
with principal partners northrop grumman and bae systems the aircraft has three main variants the
conventional takeoff and landing f-35a ctol the short takeoff and vertical landing f-35b s-t-o-v-l
and the carrier-based f-35c c-v c-a-t-o-b-a-r
the u.s air force considers the aircraft its primary strike fighter for conducting
suppression of enemy air defense missions owing to the advanced sensors and mission systems
it has now been just over five years since the introduction of the f-35 lightning ii
despite its rocky start lockheed martin's fifth generation stealth fighter has weathered no
shortage of setbacks and pointed criticisms to carve out a niche for itself in the u.s military
there are five reasons why the f-35 aircraft remains one of the world's top fighter jets
versatility
the term operational versatility is nothing if not overused in the defense commentary sphere
but the f-35 jet is one such case where it is fully warranted
the f-35 jet is designed for several different configurations to fulfill a wide range of mission
types the stealth configuration contains four aim 120 am ram missiles for air-to-air missions or
a mixture of 4 aim-120 gbu-31 jdms smart bombs for air-to-ground missions
all loaded into the f-35 jets internal armaments bay to minimize radar cross-section then there is
beast mode which offers 14 or six gbu-31s along with four aim-120s 9x's for ground
missions stored in a combination of external and internal bays as the name implies beast mode
sacrifices stealth performance for the maximum possible firepower that the f-35 jet can deliver
interoperability
caught a quarterback in the sky by one of its demonstration pilots the f-35 jets myriad
on-board sensors are capable of generating a real-time picture of the battlefield
the f-35 jet can then feed this live information to nearby friendly units
and operational centers contributing to a shared data network generated from first-hand information
the f-35 jet is in this way a force multiplier
it can enhance the capabilities of friendly air ground and surface units by utilizing its
advanced sensor suite to provide information that they wouldn't have access to otherwise
stealth the f-35 jet boasts an airframe specially designed to generate a minimal radar cross-section
also coated in radar-absorbent materials
the f-35 jet is generally thought to be stealthier than lockheed's f-22 raptor
arguably the gold standard for fifth generation stealth performance from the front offering an rcs
so low that it is often compared to that of a metal golf ball this makes the f-35 jet
an apt choice for penetration missiles deep into enemy airspace electronic warfare
the f-35 jet boasts an a-n apg-81 system active electronically scanned array radar
boasting powerful electronic counter measures capability
the apg-81 is capable of tracking multiple moving targets at over a hundred and fifty kilometers
and rigorous mapping as well as offering unique profiles for different mission modes meanwhile the
aen asqua counter-measures suite brings a radar warning receiver jamming capabilities as well as
rapid response and situational awareness features these are just two examples
from what is one of the most edge avionics packages ever installed onto a stealth fighter
availability
the leading objection to the f-35 jet has arguably been the program's colossal cost over the years
while costs remain a concern there is some good news the first f-35 jets are fully equipped and
already seeing combat deployments while cost per model have dropped significantly in recent years
according to fresh estimates the f-35 jet is now not only cheaper than leading u.s
4th generation fighters at around 77.5 million but
significantly cheaper than compelling allied models like the eu's euro fighter
what does all this mean not only is the us government getting a better deal
but the f-35 jet can more capably compete as an export product that's all friends write
in the comments which of the f-35 you like the most thanks for watching have a nice day
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