Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, supersonicstealthstrike fighters. A multirole combat aircraft designed for air superiority and strike missions, it also has electronic warfare and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor, with partners Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems. The aircraft has three main variants: the conventional takeoff and landingF-35A, the short take-off and vertical-landing F-35B, and the catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery F-35C. With 883 aircraft in service as of 2025, it is the world's fourth-most-numerous military aircraft, and most-numerous stealth aircraft.

The aircraft descends from the Lockheed Martin X-35, which in 2001 beat the Boeing X-32 to win the Joint Strike Fighter program, to replace the F-16 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18 Hornet, the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II, and others. Development was primarily funded by the United States, with additional funding from select NATO members and Australia; Turkey was removed from the program in 2019. As of April 2026, the US operates all three main variants; both F-35As and F-35Bs are operated by Italy and Japan; F-35As are operated by Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and South Korea; and F-35Bs are operated by the United Kingdom. Israel operates its own F-35I variant. Six further NATO members, as well as Switzerland and Singapore, have also placed orders, and other countries are considering purchases.

The program has drawn criticism for its unprecedented size, complexity, ballooning costs, and delayed deliveries, partially caused by low rate initial production during its development. As of 2024, the program is expected to cost US$2 trillion through 2088, about half of which is due to inflation. The unit flyaway costs of the 296 aircraft in lots 18-19, for which deliveries start in 2026, are $92M for the F-35A, $121.4M for the F-35B, and $110.8M for the F-35C (2026 dollars). Flyaway costs include all the basic marginal costs to produce one aircraft, including the government-furnished jet engines and radars. The F135 engine contributes $20.4 million to this flyaway cost as of 2025.

The F-35 first flew in 2006; its variants entered US service in 2015 (Marine Corps F-35B), 2016 (Air Force F-35A), and 2019 (Navy F-35C). The F-35 first saw combat in the 2018 Israeli strikes in Syria, the F-35B in 2018 by US strikes in Afghanistan, and the F-35C in 2024 in US strikes in Yemen. F-35s have since been used in combat by the US in Iraq, Iran (2025 and 2026), and Venezuela; by Israel in Gaza, Iraq, Iran (2025 and 2026), Lebanon, and Yemen; and by the UK in Iraq and Syria; F-35As can deliver two US B61 nuclear bombs, including those deployed in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Belgium, Germany, Italy, and the UK plan to buy nuclear-capable F-35As. The US plans to buy 2,456 F-35s through 2044, which will represent the bulk of its crewed fixed-wing tactical aviation for several decades; the aircraft is to be a cornerstone of NATO and US-allied air power and operate until 2088.