F-35 Multirole Fighter
Picture Source: US Air Force

There is a new plane in town. This plane promises to be the most advanced plane in the world. It is a multirole fighter optimized for air to ground and air to air capability. The plane is the F-35 by Lockheed Martin. How much does the best fighter plane in the world cost, try 28 million dollars for the US Air Force model to 38 million dollars for the US Navy model. The US Marine Corps and UK Royal Navy models cost 35 million dollars. Over the years the concept of a multirole fighter has been criticized by some. They feel that such a fighter will never excel at any one task but will only have mediocre performance at all tasks. One example of such criticism was that the A10 tank killer could never be replaced by the F-35 because it was said to have as its lowest operational ceiling 10,000 feet, but this ceiling can not be verified at the moment.

F-22 Raptor
Picture Source: US Air Force

The F-35 augments the F-22 Raptor and replaces the F-16 as an air to ground strike aircraft. There is a problem with this too however as the F-35 carries significantly less payload. The initial run of aircraft by Lockheed is predicted to be about 2800. The US Air Force is ordering 1,763, the US Navy, 489, the US Marines 480 and the UK Royal Navy 60 aircraft. Don't look for these craft yet. There will be different versions for different forces. The Navy version has been reinforced for carrier landings and also has a tail hook. The Marine version is a STOL version which will incorporate a lift fan. The deployment date is set for 2008-2010. A lot of performance statistics are still secret but there are some figures I can give you:

F-16
Picture Source: NASA

The Engine is scheduled to be a Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 and it is derived from the F-22 Raptor
The empty weight is said to be 22,500 to 24,000 for the Navy model.
Fuel capacity is 15,000 pounds except for the Navy model which is 16,000 pounds.
Payload is 13,000 pounds except for the Navy which is 17,000 pounds
Maximum takeoff weight is about 50,000 pounds
The plane is 45 feet long, with a wingspan of 36 feet except for the Navy model which has a 30 foot wing span.

Because of the small payloads the pilots of F-35s will have to adopt the slogan of the snipers, one shot, one kill. But as a vertical landing craft the F-35 has no equal. It is said to have made vertical landings and takeoffs very easy. In the older vertical landing and take off planes it was a tiring feat because you had to control so many variables. Another unique aspect of the plane is its ability to relay key maintenance information to the ground crew while it is on its way back to base. The plane is capable of using instruments on other planes when its own are damaged. An example of this is the use of radar on a different plane in the squadron if the radar is damaged. If the pilot is incapacitated the plane will maneuver on its own to avoid obstacles. The plane has a mission terrain database that can be updated before each flight. The F-35 will receive about 11,000 testing before being receiving the go ahead for service.