F-35 to deliver stealth strike - Airman's World - Lockheed Martin to produce Joint Strike Fighters for U.S Air Force - Brief Article

Airman, Dec, 2001 by A.J. Bosker

WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- The Air Force plans to buy 1,763 of the first operational Joint Strike Fighter, now called the F-35, scheduled for delivery starting fiscal 2008.

The F-35 is a family of three multirole aircraft designed to replace aircraft in the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and the British military. The Air Force's F-35A version of the craft is expected to replace the F-16 Falcon and A-10 Thunderbolt II. It will partner with the F-22 Raptor.

The winning contractor, Lockheed Martin, competed against Boeing when each were awarded contracts in the concept demonstration phase of the program in 1996. They began flight tests of the X-35B and X-32B, respectively, in 2000.

Plans call for the F-35 to be the world's premier strike aircraft through 2040, said Edward C. "Pete" Aldridge Jr., under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics. "It will provide air-to-air capability second only to the F-22 air superiority fighter," he said. The plane will allow the Air Force to field an almost all-stealth