Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning 2
The Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II is the short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing version of the F-35 family, built for the US Marine Corps, UK Royal Navy, and Italian Navy to operate from smaller amphibious ships and austere forward bases without a full-length runway. A shaft-driven lift fan behind the cockpit, unique to this variant, provides much of the vertical lift while the main engine nozzle swivels downward, an unusual and mechanically complex solution compared with simpler jet-thrust vectoring designs. That vertical-landing capability comes at the cost of some fuel capacity and payload compared with the conventional F-35A. It has already seen combat use from Royal Navy carriers.
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Did you know?
A shaft-driven lift fan behind the cockpit gives the F-35B short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing capability the conventional F-35A lacks.
Specifications
| Length | 15.7 m (51 ft) |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 10.7 m (35 ft) |
| Height | 4.4 m (14 ft) |
| Persons on board | 1 |
| Crew | 1 |
| Maximum take-off weight | 29.7 t |
| Range | 900 NM (1,667 km) |
| Maximum speed | 1,000 kt (1,852 km/h) |
| Service ceiling | 50,000 ft (15,240 m) |
| Engines | 1x Pratt & Whitney F135-PW-600 (with lift fan) |
Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.
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