F-35 Lightning II

Lockheed Martin · United States · first flew 2006 · fighter

A single-engine fifth-generation stealth fighter built around sensor fusion and low observability, produced in three variants for conventional, short-takeoff and carrier operations.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Mid-mounted, swept
E — Engines	1 × turbofan, fuselage-mounted
F — Fuselage	Single faceted, angular stealth fuselage
T — Tail	Twin fin

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Single faceted, angular stealth fuselage
Two outward-canted vertical fins close together at the tail
Single large exhaust at the tail centreline

Look for the chunky, faceted fuselage with a sharply chined nose and a single jet exhaust on the centreline. The two vertical fins cant outward and sit close together, and the canopy sits well forward over a bulged spine that on the F-35B conceals the lift fan.

Specifications

The F-35 Lightning II has a length of 15.7 m (52 ft).
It has a wingspan of 10.7 m (35 ft).
Its maximum speed is 1930 km/h (1199 mph).
Typical crew: 1.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

The F-35 grew out of the Joint Strike Fighter programme, with Lockheed Martin's X-35 demonstrator beating Boeing's X-32 in 2001. The first flight followed on 15 December 2006, and the type has since become the most widely fielded Western stealth aircraft despite a long and costly development.

Variants

Three principal versions share a common core: the F-35A conventional take-off and landing model for air forces, the F-35B with a lift fan for short take-off and vertical landing, and the carrier-capable F-35C with larger wings and a tailhook. The UK operates the STOVL F-35B as the Lightning, flying from both land bases and the Queen Elizabeth-class carriers.

Where you'll see it

The Royal Air Force and Royal Navy share the F-35B fleet under the Lightning Force, based at RAF Marham in Norfolk and embarked aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales. British Lightnings are now regular performers at the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford.

In depth

The F-35 programme grew from a politically ambitious idea: a single stealth-capable airframe that could simultaneously satisfy the needs of the US Air Force, the US Navy, the US Marine Corps and multiple allied nations. The engineering tension this created is visible in the aircraft's shape. Unlike the F-22, which was optimised first for stealth and aerodynamics, the F-35 had to accommodate a shaft-driven lift fan directly behind the cockpit for the B variant — a system that fundamentally influenced the fuselage cross-section for all three versions. The round, bulbous spine of the F-35 compared with the razor-thin dorsal line of the F-22 is partly a consequence of packaging that lift-fan drive shaft. Lockheed Martin's chief designer described the programme as building three different aircraft around a common outer mould line — a compromise that explains both its versatility and its aerodynamic limitations relative to dedicated designs.

The F-35 has accumulated a genuine combat record. The Israeli Air Force has used its F-35I Adir extensively over Syria and Lebanon since 2017, making it the first stealth aircraft to fly operational combat missions in history. Israel confirmed shooting down Iranian drones and carrying out strikes on Syrian air defence assets without loss. The US Marine Corps flew F-35Bs in strikes against Taliban targets in Afghanistan in 2018, and the USAF followed with F-35A combat use in the Middle East. Ukrainian conflict reporting in 2022 surfaced Russian acknowledgement that Su-35 aircraft were taking extra care to avoid areas where F-35s were known to be operating — a pointed piece of intelligence even if its broader context remains contested.

Compared with its predecessor in Royal Navy and RAF service, the Harrier, the F-35B represents a generational leap in situational awareness: the Distributed Aperture System surrounds the aircraft with six infrared cameras whose feeds are stitched together and projected onto the pilot's helmet visor, allowing them to look through the floor of the jet and see the runway below. Against the Eurofighter Typhoon it flies alongside, the F-35B gives up raw dogfighting energy in exchange for an ability to detect and engage targets before they know it is there — different tools for different portions of the same mission.

UK-based spotters have the best access to F-35Bs at RAF Marham in Norfolk, which opened its gates for an air show in 2019. The Lightning Force displays at RIAT Fairford regularly, and the Queen Elizabeth-class carriers are occasionally visible entering and leaving Portsmouth with Lightnings embarked. Carrier fly-ons and fly-offs occur in the Solent approaches and the wider English Channel; marine traffic tracker apps can help predict when a carrier is moving, making a coastal position worthwhile on those days.

One piece of spotter trivia specific to the B variant: the lift fan in the spine is covered by a clamshell door that opens before a vertical landing. At shows where a vertical landing is demonstrated, watch for the door hinging open behind the cockpit and the exhaust doors opening at the rear — three distinct vents appear almost simultaneously, an unusual signature visible even from a fair distance. The RAF's F-35Bs carry UK-specific weapons including the Meteor beyond-visual-range missile; you can sometimes see the distinctive long body of a Meteor in the internal weapons bay during ground static displays if the crew have the bay door open for public viewing.

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