F-35 Fighter Jets: Dominating the Skies, 900 Exported To-Date

by Maya Carlin, Warrior Contributor, Weapons

The F-35 has become the most coveted tactical airframe across the globe, U.S. allies and adversaries alike hope to procure this nearly unstoppable fighter platform.

In fact, there are more of these fifth-generation jets flying for nations around the world today than all other stealth airframes across the planet. Just under 900 F-35s have been exported to date, a staggering number for such a relatively new fighter.

For decades, the U.S. monopolized air superiority. China’s new fifth-generation Chengdu J-20 platform was introduced in 2017, followed by several other stealth platforms.

While the race to develop and procure next-generation fighters is already well underway, the F-35 Lightning II remains arguably the most dominant fighter jet to ever fly the skies.

Introducing the F-35 Lightning II fighter

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II jet is truly a renaissance airframe, able to provide intelligence, surveillance, electronic warfare and reconnaissance capabilities.

Derived from the Joint Strike Fighter program, the fighter was a result of the manufacturing giant’s Skunk Works project which aimed to create an Advanced Short Take-Off/Vertical Landing (ASTOVL) for both the U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps.

The Joint Advanced Strike Technology program first emerged in 1993, following the cancellation of the Air Force’s Multi-Role Fighter and the Navy’s Advanced Fighter-Attack programs.