A community portal about Fighter aircraft with blogs, videos, and photos. According to Wikipedia.org: A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for attacking other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed to...
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A community portal about Fighter aircraft with blogs, videos, and photos. According to Wikipedia.org: A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for attacking other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed to attack ground targets, primarily by dropping bombs. Fighters are comparatively small, fast, and maneuverable. They were developed in response to the fledgling use of aircraft and dirigibles in World War I for reconnaissance and ground attack roles. These early fighters were mostly wooden biplanes with light machine guns. As aerial warfare became increasingly important, so did control of the airspace. By World War II, fighters were predominantly metal monoplanes with wing-mounted cannon. Following the war, turbojets replaced piston engines as the means of propulsion, and missiles augmented or replaced guns. For historical purposes, jet fighters are classified by generation. The generation terminology was initiated by Russian defense parlance in referring to the F-35 Lightning II as a "fifth generation" plane. Years are not exact and intended as a guideline. Modern jet fighters are predominantly powered by one or two turbofan engines, armed primarily with missiles, with a cannon as backup armament, and equipped with a radar as the primary method of target acquisition.
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's defense ministry is moving toward selecting Lockheed Martin Corp's <LMT.N> F-35 jet as the mainstay of its next-generation fighter force, Kyodo news agency reported on Monday, citing ministry sources. The ministry, which is thinking of buying about 40 F-35s, plans to submit a request for their purchase in the fiscal 2011/12 budget, Kyodo said. It added, however, that the ministry may postpone making the request for one year, due to a view in the government that the... Read Full Story
Japan is considering buying around 40 F-35 fighter jets as the future mainstay of the nation's air force, it was reported Monday. Japan has officially been pacifist since World War II but has been gradually expanding the role of its military, in part due to concern over nuclear-armed North Korea and China's continued military growth. The defence ministry will likely seek funds in the fiscal 2011 budget for the fighters, Kyodo said citing unnamed sources. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF... Read Full Story
A BAE Systems led test team has welcomed the short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) variant of the F-35 Lightning II (also known as the Joint Strike Fighter) to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, for flight testing. The first F-35B aircraft, designated BF-1, arrived at Patuxent River on 15 November. The Integrated Test Force team at the station will now begin a carefully planned programme of flights that will see the aircraft begin steeper and slower descents before achieving the... Read Full Story
The Rudd government has given the green light to Australia's largest ever defence purchase, approving a buy of 14 F-35 joint strike fighters at a cost of $3.2 billion. Cabinet's national security committee has backed the RAAF's plan to buy at least 72 of the fifth generation fighters at a projected cost of at least $12bn but Australia's F-35's will be bought in batches with the first aircraft expected to be delivered in 2014. Defence minister, John Faulkner, announced yesterday government... Read Full Story
French aircraft maker Dassault on Thursday lashed out at Swedish and US competitors for a multi-billion-dollar jet fighter contract in Brazil, accusing them of playing dirty. The Brazilian subsidiary of the French company held a hastily called news conference in Brasilia to accuse Saab of Sweden and Boeing of the United States of trying to improperly tilt the contest in their favor by claiming Dassault's Rafale jet was too expensive. "Unfortunately, our competitors have started to make... Read Full Story
Japan's defense ministry is moving toward selecting Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 jet as the mainstay of its next-generation fighter force, Kyodo news agency reported on Monday, citing ministry sources. The ministry, which is thinking of buying about 40 F-35s, plans to submit a request for their purchase in the fiscal 2011/12 budget, Kyodo said. It added, however, that the ministry may postpone making the request for one year, due to a view in the government that the purchase should only be... Read Full Story
Lockheed Martin X-35 Prototype Demonstrator for F-35 / Two (2) built
Photo – Tom Reynolds / USAF
F35 Joint Strike Fighter Program data is still secret
On April 21, 2009, the Wall Street Journal (USA) reported that computer spies had hacked the US DOD computer system and stolen highly classified data from the world’s most expensive weapons program – the Joint Strike Fighter Program. This Lockheed Martin fighter, the F-35 Lightning II, accesses 7.5 million lines of computer code, more... Read Full Story
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives approved on Thursday $560 million to continue work on an alternate F-35 engine being built by General Electric Co and Rolls-Royce Group Plc, defying a White House veto threat. The legislation passed by a vote of 281 to 146, despite the Obama administration's attempts to shut the second engine program down. The bill also would fully fund the Pentagon's $6 billion request to buy 30 F-35 fighters, built by the Lockheed Martin Corp. The... Read Full Story
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - General Electric Co <GE.N> and Britain's Rolls Royce Group PLC <RR.L> said on Wednesday they have halted tests on an alternate engine for the F-35 fighter jet after damage was found to some turbine blades, and no timetable was given for the tests to resume. Tests in Cincinnati last weekend revealed "dings and nicks" on the turbine blades but no damage to the compressor or the fan. The engine was running normally at the time of the shutdown, GE and Rolls said in a joint... Read Full Story
Brazil has set a deadline for French manufacturer Dassault to finalize its bid for a multi-billion-dollar fighter jet contract, also increasing pressure on competing offers by Swedish and US firms. Dassault has until September 21 to "formalize before the Brazilian Air Force a commercial proposition for the Rafale fighter jet consistent with the parameters set by French President Nicolas Sarkozy," the Defense Ministry said in a statement late Friday. Lula has already indicated that Dassault... Read Full Story
