F 35 Fighter
The F-35s are a family of three aircraft, designated the F-35A, F-35B and F-35C. Similar in shape and size, and powered by the same basic engine, the F-35s will share between 70 and 90 percent of their parts. Yet, under the skin they are three distinctly different machines.
The U.S. Air Force will fly the F-35A. Designed to take off and land from conventional runways, it bears a close family resemblance to the F-22 Raptor air superiority fighter--a trait shared by all three JSF variants. The Air Force wants to use the F-35A to replace its obsolete fleet of A-10 tank killers and rapidly aging F-16 fighters. "The [F-35A] would allow for migration by U.S. forces to an almost all-stealth fighter force by 2025," says Edward Aldridge, undersecretary of Defense for Acquisitions.
