The US F-35B Advantage – Russia & China Have No Vertical Take-Off 5th-Gen Ocean Attack

By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

(Washington D.C.) The Vertical take-off-and-landing F-35B Joint Strike Fighter has been operational on US Navy amphibious assault ships for many years now, introducing an unmatched ability to launch 5th-generation air attack from smaller ships without a full carrier-runway such as America-class amphibious assault ships.

Although it flies alongside the F-35C and F-35A aircraft, the F-35B is arguably the most complex as it involves special engineering to achieve new levels of vertical hover and take off.

F-35B

During construction of an F-35B, a visible “LiftFan” is engineered into a forward part of the center fuselage just behind the pilot to enable massive downward vertical thrust. Horsepower is sent to the LiftFan from the main engine through a “spiral bi-level gear system,” Rolls Royce information states.

Video Above: Colonel Michael Stefanovic, Director of the Strategic Studies Institute for the Air Force sits down for an exclusive interview with Kris Osborn

This horsepower, when combined with the LiftFan, generates the downward thrust necessary to enable the “hover” ability and vertical landing. An F-35B has what looks like a square door or opening on top of the fuselage behind the pilot and above the lift fan to maximize downward air flow. 

Engineers explain that the massive thrust, sufficient to propel the aircraft up to speeds beyond the sound barrier, results from a fourfold process. Air ducts on either side of the nose “suck” in air to the engine, the air is then compressed before being ignited with gas — generating what looks like a controlled explosion of fire coming out of the back. The force generated through this process, enables the speed, maneuverability and acceleration of the aircraft.