"The F-35 program executive officer, has stated that the 'F-35 enjoys a significant Combat Loss Exchange Ratio advantage over the current and future air-to-air threats, to include Sukhois, which are currently being flown by the Russian, Indian, and Chinese Air Forces.'"
- Maj Gen Charles R. Davis, USAF, the F-35 program executive officer

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.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a USN Lockheed-Martin F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 7-1/4-inches
Length: 8-1/2-inches

Release Date: April 2020

Historical Account: "Pole Sitting" - With so many unanswered F-35 Lightning II questions that a computer simulation simply couldn't solve it was deemed necessary to build two full-scale models of the F-35C. These fiberglass and aluminum models were completed two years before the first test F-35 flew. Since stealth was the key factor to the F-35's construction it was necessary to test the aircraft's antennae in different locations and at varying angles. The F-35C model, painted similarly to a VF-103 Jolly Rogers scheme, was placed high on a pole to test if the larger wings and slightly larger air frame would impact the antennas.