21st Century U.S. Military F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), Next-Generation Strike Aircraft for the U.S. Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Allies (CD-ROM)

The incredible story of America's newest strike aircraft, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, is told in words and beautiful photographs in this up-to-date CD-ROM disc. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is the Department of Defense's focal point for defining affordable next generation strike aircraft weapon systems for the Navy, Air Force, Marines, and our allies. The F-35 is the next generation strike fighter bringing cutting-edge technologies to the battlespace of the future. The JSFs advanced airframe, autonomic logistics, avionics, propulsion systems, stealth, and firepower will ensure that the F-35 is the most affordable, lethal, supportable and survivable aircraft ever to be used by so many warfighters across the globe. The JSF will fulfill stated Service needs as follows: Navy first day of war, survivable strike fighter aircraft to complement F/A-18E/F. Air Force multirole aircraft (primary-air-to-ground) to replace the F-16 and A-10 and complement the F/A-22. Marine Corps STOVL aircraft to replace the AV-8B and F/A-18 as their only strike fighter. United Kingdom Royal Navy & Royal Air Force STOVL aircraft to replace Sea Harriers & GR 7s as a supersonic strike fighter. Following an intense four-year competition, the U.S. Department of Defense on 26 October 2001, named the Lockheed Martin lead Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) team as the winner of the contract to develop the F-35 JSF. The F-35 team immediately entered the program’s 10-year System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase. The SDD period involves the development and testing of the entire aircraft system, including its manufacture. During SDD, the team will build a total of 22 test aircraft. Fourteen will undergo flight-testing, seven will be used for non-airborne test activities, and one will be used to evaluate the F-35’s radar signature. Nine nations are partnering in the F-35’s SDD phase: The United States, United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Australia. Partnership in SDD entitles those countries to bid for work on a best value basis, and participate in the aircraft’s development. Additionally, Israel and Singapore have agreed to join the program as a Security Cooperation Participants. In addition to the coverage of the JSF, there is extensive material on the F-22, the air-dominance fighter of the 21st Century. It has been named the Raptor by the U.S. Air Force. It packs a mix of maneuverability, stealth, and general lethality that no other fighter in the world can equal. The F-22 is an air superiority aircraft with a capability to deliver air-to-ground weapons. The most significant features include supercruise, the ability to fly efficiently at supersonic speeds without using fuel-consuming afterburners; low observability to adversary systems that have the objective of locating and shooting the F-22; and integrated avionics to significantly improve the pilot’s battlefield awareness.