Developed by Lockheed Martin, the F-35 Lightning II is a fifth-generation combat aircraft with an unmatched level of versatility. But while most people have at least heard of the F-35, few know the muscle powering this airborne fortress. So, check out some of the following facts about the F-35.<\/p>\n
Projected Service Life Until 2070<\/strong><\/p>\n Whether it’s for military, commercial or civilian purposes, all aircraft have a finite lifespan. After the military adjusted the number of flight hours for their fleets, however, they were able to extend the projected service life of the F-35 by an additional six years to 2070. Therefore, it’s safe to say the F-35 will by soaring through the skies for a while to come.<\/p>\n Vertical Landing<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the variants of the F-35, the F-35B, has the ability to perform vertical landings — it’s the first aircraft of its kind to perform such a feat. Why does the military need an aircraft that can perform vertical landings? Well, aircraft carriers have short takeoff and landing strips, making the F-35 an ideal candidate for such operations.<\/p>\n 300,000 Parts<\/strong><\/p>\n Reports indicate that the F-35 has more than 300,000 individual parts by the time construction is completed. Of course, putting these parts together is no easy task, which is probably why the F-35 carries a hefty price tag of just under $100 million.<\/p>\n Low-Maintenance Stealth Technology<\/strong><\/p>\n Another reason why the F-35 has received such praise is because of its low-maintenance stealth technology. The F-35C variant is said to be the Navy’s first stealth aircraft. Rather than using high-maintenance coatings (e.g. legacy stealth aircraft designs), Lockheed Martin opted for structural fiber mat. This is equally as effective but requires significantly less maintenance than its counterpart.<\/p>\n 8.3 Million Lines of Code<\/strong><\/p>\n According to the official F-35 website<\/a>, the military’s new stealth aircraft features a jaw-dropping 8.3 million lines of code. It’s arguably the most high-tech aircraft owned and operated by the military, featuring advanced attack and defense capabilities that aren’t found elsewhere.<\/p>\n Mach 1.6<\/strong><\/p>\n Just how fast can the F-35 fly? Reports indicate it has a maximum speed of mach 1.6, meaning it can travel faster than the speed of sound. To put that into perspective, mach 1 is roughly 761.2 mph in dry air — and the F-35 can fly 50% faster than mach 1. This speed is due largely in part to its Pratt & Whitney F135 engine, with Lockheed Martin experimenting but ultimately canceling production of the General Electric\/Rolls-Royce F136 engine.<\/span><\/p>\n What do you think about the F-35?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Developed by Lockheed Martin, the F-35 Lightning II is a fifth-generation combat aircraft with an unmatched level of versatility. But while most people have at least heard of the F-35, few know the muscle powering this airborne fortress. So, check … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aircraft"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/monroeaerospace.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/monroeaerospace.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/monroeaerospace.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monroeaerospace.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monroeaerospace.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/monroeaerospace.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42,"href":"https:\/\/monroeaerospace.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33\/revisions\/42"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monroeaerospace.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/monroeaerospace.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monroeaerospace.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monroeaerospace.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}