There's nothing like America's most expensive war machine ever
The F-35 is the Pentagon's largest arms program, with an estimated price tag of $391 billion over the next five decades.
The US Department of Defense expects a total fleet of 2,457 F-35s over the next five decades.
Source: Reuters
The lightest of the jets is the F-35A.
The F-35B is in the middle at 14.3 feet tall and weighs 32,300 pounds.
The F-35C is the tallest and the heaviest.
The F-35A and F-35B have the same wingspan and nearly the same length.
Designed for the Navy, the F-35C features longer wings to create drag for the jet to slowly land on aircraft carriers.
The F-35C has another unique wing design.
"During a normal F-35C launch, the jet goes from zero to 150 miles per hour, traveling the 310-foot length of the catapult in about two seconds," according to Lockheed Martin.
Source: Lockheed Martin
According to Navy officials, the at-sea developmental testing of the F-35C is almost done.
Source: Reuters
The F-35A is the only variant that has an internal gun; aside from that, the jets have similar designs.
All three variants are coated with a special material to avoid radar.
And obviously, the F-35 jets have some serious firepower.
There's nothing like America's most expensive war machine ever
There's nothing like America's most expensive war machine ever
The F-35C carries 19,750 pounds of fuel, the most fuel of the variant aircraft. All jets have the capability to be refueled in air.
However, the F-35A is refueled differently.
Popular Right Now
Advertisement