Revolutionary F-35 Fighter Reaches Its Most Important Milestone

Loren B. Thompson

F-35, United States

This week's announcement of initial operational capability for the F-35A is arguably the most important milestone in the tri-service fighter's evolution

Fifteen years after development began and ten years after it first took flight, the F-35 fighter is operational with the U.S. Air Force.  This week's announcement of initial operational capability for the F-35A is arguably the most important milestone in the tri-service fighter's evolution, because the Air Force will buy over 70% of the plane's domestic production run (1,763 of 2,443 aircraft), and its variant is the version that the vast majority of overseas allies will acquire. (Editor's Note: The U.S. Air Force IOC announcement is anticipated for Aug. 2 - DM)

So it is no exaggeration to say that the Air Force buy is the linchpin of the whole program.  Without it, the cost of Navy and Marine Corps variants would be prohibitive.  The economies of scale generated by purchasing three variants with high commonality to meet the future tactical aircraft needs of the entire joint force were the inspiration for the program at its inception in the Clinton years, and they remain compelling today.  If the services stick with their plans, the F-35 will end up costing no more per plane than the legacy aircraft they replace.

That is a remarkable achievement in a business where the cost of fighter aircraft seemed to double with each successive generation after the advent of jet engines in World War Two.  The F-35 is what's known as a fifth-generation aircraft, which means it integrates advanced stealth, sensor fusion, digitally-optimized flight performance, net-enabled operations and automated logistics in a multirole aircraft far superior to anything that has come before.

How superior?  Compared with a Cold War fighter, the F-35 will be six times more effective in air-to-air combat, six times more effective in suppression of enemy air defenses, five times more effective in destroying ground targets, and four times more effective in evading enemy air defenses.  It will need all of those gains to sustain U.S. global air dominance in the decades ahead, because potential enemies have not stood still in their own military investments.