The US Army Misplaced A $130m F-35 Lightning, And Desires You To Discover It

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, the second plane to bear the “Lightning” moniker after the World Warfare II-era Lockheed P-38 Lightning, is a fifth-generation fighter plane that is described by its maker as “probably the most deadly fighter jet on the planet.” Not solely that, Lockheed Martin says “The F-35 strengthens nationwide safety, enhances international partnerships, and powers financial development.” Whereas an F-22 Raptor, additionally made by Lockheed Martin, is generally a fighter jet and “air dominance” fighter, the F-35 was designed with a number of roles in thoughts and has been exported to many allied international locations. 

The F-35B variant, the identical sort because the aforementioned lacking airplane, is designed with STOVL (Brief Takeoff and Vertical Touchdown) capabilities for america Marine Corps. Which means it’s specifically suited to take off from very quick runways and likewise land vertically, or hover in place as wanted. It accomplishes this by swiveling its jet nozzle downward. That downward thrust measures out to round 40,000 kilos of thrust. The Marine Corps makes use of this functionality to land on ships at sea with out the necessity for a standard plane service.

Lockheed Martin additionally stories that the airplane can attain 1.6 occasions the velocity of sound and might carry sufficient gas to journey greater than 1,000 miles on a full tank. It has not been reported whether or not or not the pilot who ejected in South Carolina had engaged the hover talents of their airplane. It’s also unknown how a lot gas was onboard.