F-35 JSF named "Lightning II"

Soldato
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For the military/aviation enthusiasts...

Washington D.C. - The first F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which will be known as the Lightning II, was unveiled at Lockheed-Martin's facility at Fort Worth, Texas, today.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley announced the fighter's name, which pays homage to two predecessors.

The P-38 Lightning was a Lockheed fighter that fought in all theaters during World War II. The aircraft had the legs to go long distances, and it was fast. Army Air Forces Maj. Dick Bong, the leading U.S. ace of the war with 40 kills, flew P-38s in the Pacific. Army Air Force Maj. Thomas McGuire, who had 38 kills in the Pacific, also flew Lightnings.

The name also remembers the Lightning jet the British developed in the mid-1950s. The aircraft was the first British aircraft to pass Mach 2, and it remained in the inventory until the late 1980s. Britain has been part of the Joint Strike Fighter program since the beginning.

The Lightning II is designed to meet the needs of the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. The F-35A version is designed for conventional takeoffs and landings, and will be used by the Air Force. It will replace the F-15, F-16 and A-10. The B variant has vertical lift capability, and will be used by the Marines as a replacement for the AV-8B Harrier. The C variant will be for carrier launches and will ultimately replace the Navy's F-18s.

Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England congratulated the team that built the stealth-technology fighter, and said the aircraft will serve far into the future. "The F-35 Lightning II will be the centerpiece of airpower in the 21st century for America and our allies," England said.

In addition to Britain, the consortium of countries that will field the aircraft includes Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Australia, Norway, Denmark and Canada.

The first flight for the aircraft is set for later this year. Some 15 F-35s will undergo testing in the next few years.
http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,104804,00.html?ESRC=airforce.nl

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Soldato
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I remember seeing some of the testing for this, and the version developed by Boeing. The brief was to build a supersonic replacement for the Harrier..

However, you'll notice one BIG difference.. STOVL is very different to VTOVL..

The harrier can pop out from the middle of a dense forest, making hiding entire squadrons, quite easy.. this heap of junk.. needs a runway..

They tried to make it take off vertically.. but it near enough shook itself apart..

So.. the harrier may be old, but it works..
It may not be supersonic.. but it's a classic, and still a viable fighting aircraft..

Them damn yanks just don't like that they didn't build it.
 
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Man of Honour
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They're replacing dual engined F-18s with a single engined plane? I was under the impression that the Navy was not fond of using single engine planes on carriers because losing one engine meant losing one plane and probably a pilot or two.

EDIT: Inquisitor, that's okay becasue the yanks love you. :)
 
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Ceryndrion said:
I remember seeing some of the testing for this, and the version developed by Boeing. The brief was to build a supersonic replacement for the Harrier..

However, you'll notice one BIG difference.. STOAL is very different to VTOAL..

The harrier can pop out from the middle of a dense forest, making hiding entire squadrons, quite easy.. this heap of junk.. needs a runway..
But the Harrier is currently referred to as STOVL as it can't take off vertically fully laden?
 
Soldato
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Inquisitor said:
Arg, those yanks anger me :mad:
Why? Its only a suggestion, doesn't mean that it even came close to being selected. I would like to know who came up with the name anyway, it was probably a nobody.

BillytheImpaler said:
They're replacing dual engined F-18s with a single engined plane? I was under the impression that the Navy was not fond of using single engine planes on carriers because losing one engine meant losing one plane and probably a pilot or two.
The F-18 will still be around for a long time. The Super Hornet isn't that old, so they won't just drop it.

Ceryndrion said:
True enough, but the harrier "can" take off vertically if needed, whereas the F-35 shakes so badly, the test pilot thought it was about to fall apart.
All prototypes have their problems, got a link to this?
 
Soldato
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Imagine what we could have done if we had the money to have fully developed the Harrier, we have all the expertise and ideas but we just don't seem to want to invest the money.

HEADRAT
 
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