Behold the most expensive weapons system ever and all of its ammunition in one photo
America's "jack of all trades" F-35s were developed to dogfight, provide close air support, execute long-range bombing attacks, and take off from and land on aircraft carriers - all while using the most advanced available stealth capabilities.
Designed and manufactured at Lockheed Martin's massive Fort Worth facility, the F-35 Lightning II can carry an impressive 18,000 pounds of lethal ammunition.
Below is a photo of the F-35A (one of the three F-35 variant aircraft) and its weapons suite:
The now nearly $400 billion F-35 weapons program was developed in 2001 to replace the US military's F-15, F-16, and F-18 aircraft. Since its inception, the fifth generation stealth jet has experienced setbacks that include faulty ejection seats, software delays, helmet display issues, and an inability to dogfight.
Lockheed Martin's F-35 program includes three variant aircraft (the F-35A, F-35B, and F-35C), each designed to meet the specific needs of America's sister service branches and a number of foreign military buyers such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Netherlands, Norway, Japan, South Korea, and Israel.
Lockheed Martin says that each F-35A, also referred to as the Conventional Takeoff and Landing (CTOL) jet, costs $108 million (including the engine) and is the most requested of the three aircraft. Thus far, approximately 65 of the anticipated 1,763 F-35A jets have been delivered to the Department of Defense.
The F-35 variants carry a similar arsenal except that the F-35A is the only variant to feature an internal cannon, which is located on the left side of the jet between the cockpit and wing.
Here's an infographic of the weapons the jets are designed to carry:
- I quit McKinsey after 1.5 years. I was making over $200k but my mental health was shattered.
- Some Tesla factory workers realized they were laid off when security scanned their badges and sent them back on shuttles, sources say
- I tutor the children of some of Dubai's richest people. One of them paid me $3,000 to do his homework.
- Why are so many elite coaches moving to Western countries?
- Global GDP to face a 19% decline by 2050 due to climate change, study projects
- 5 things to keep in mind before taking a personal loan
- Markets face heavy fluctuations; settle lower taking downtrend to 4th day
- Move over Bollywood, audio shows are starting to enter the coveted ‘100 Crores Club’