"Obsolete weapons do not deter."
- British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a fifth-generation, single-seat, single-engine, stealth-capable military strike fighter, a multirole aircraft that can perform close air support, tactical bombing, and air superiority fighter missions. The F-35 has three different models; one is the conventional takeoff and landing variant, the second is short takeoff and vertical-landing variant, and the third is a carrier-based variant.

The F-35 is descended from the X-35, the product of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. Its development is being principally funded by the United States, with the United Kingdom, and other partner governments providing additional funding. It is being designed and built by an aerospace industry team led by Lockheed Martin with Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems as major partners. Demonstrator aircraft flew in 2000, with the first flight on December 15th, 2006.

The F-35A is the conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) variant intended for the USAF and other air forces. It is the smallest, lightest version and capable of 9 g, the highest of all variants.

Although the F-35A currently conducts aerial refueling via boom and receptacle method, the aircraft can be modified for probe-and-drogue refueling if needed by the customer. A drag chute pod can be installed on the F-35A, with the Royal Norwegian Air Force being the first operator to adopt it.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a JASDF Lockheed-Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter that was attached to the 302nd Squadron, 3rd Air Wing, then deployed to Hyakuri Air Base, Japan, during August 2016. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 5-3/4-inches
Length: 8-1/2-inches

Release Date: September 2017

Historical Account: "First to Fly" - The 302nd Tactical Fighter Squadron (dai-sanbyaku-ni-hikoutai) is a squadron of the 7th Air Wing of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) based at Hyakuri Air Base (Ibaraki Airport) in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. It is equipped with McDonnell Douglas F-4EJ Kai Phantom II and Kawasaki T-4 aircraft.

Along with the 301st Tactical Fighter Squadron, the 302nd is responsible for air defense of the Tokyo Metropolitan area.

From 2018 it will be the first JASDF squadron to update to the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II. It will relocate to Misawa Air Base in Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan.

As the sole remaining F-4 fighter squadrons, either the 302nd squadron or the 301st was expected to be the first JASDF squadron to operate the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II. In August 2017, it was announced that the 302nd squadron would be the first in the JASDF to transition to the F-35. It will relocate to Misawa Air Base in 2018 and be joined by a second F-35 squadron in 2020.