Boeing JSF X-32. The basic machine of the US Air Force, Navy and Marines is to be a less sophisticated, lighter and much cheaper aircraft - JSF. The Joint Strike Fighter is expected to cost no more than $ 41 million and replace the popular F-16. The main task of the JSF will be to attack ground targets. Already, 70 percent of air missions are of this nature. The JSF is also made in Stealth technology, and its versions for the Navy and Marines have the possibility of a short take-off and vertical landing. Ultimately, the USAAF under the JSF program intends to purchase 2,433 copies, and another 930 machines may be sold abroad. The British have already expressed interest in buying around 138 JSFs. The Boeing (X-32) and Lockheed (X-35) machines differed from each other in significant design details (mainly vertical nozzle drive solutions). In the first years of the twenty-first century, there was a fierce race against time in both labels. Boeing seemed to be driving it, making its first test flight on a prototype machine a month earlier than a competitor. Ultimately, however, the Pentagon chose Lockheed Martin's X-35. A contract worth $ 19 billion allowed for the creation of the first, preliminary version of the machine, which took to the air in 2006. By 2010, the USAAF had acquired 63 machines.Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II (lightning) is a single-seat, single-engine multi-role fighter built by Lockheed Martin as a fifth generation machine, which is to meet the needs of the USAAF, US Navy, US Army and US Marine Corps. Originally the machine was called the X-35 JSF, but in 2006 it was changed to the F-35 Lightning II. Despite the fact that the main recipient will be the US government, the project is also co-financed by other countries, especially Great Britain, Italy and the Netherlands. The main contractors are: Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems. The overriding goal of the JSF idea is to create a universal machine, produced for all types of armed forces, which will allow for far-reaching standardization of spare parts and a significant reduction in costs. Finally, three versions of the F-35 (A, B and C) are to be built, which will have more than three-quarters of the same elements. The main task of the F-35 of all versions is to attack land targets, perform the tasks of a battlefield plane, air combat and electronic combat. It should be noted that the F-35 is designed for conflicts of a low intensity, in contrast to its larger "relative" F-22. Which does not change the fact that thanks to the propulsion unit used (Pratt-Whitney F135 engines), avionics and Stealth properties, it is one of the most modern multi-role aircraft in the world. The first serial F-35 was made in February 2006. Until now (2013), 63 aircraft of this type have been built. Technical data (version F-35A): Maximum speed: 1930 km / h, maximum ceiling 18288 m, maximum range: 2220 km, armament: fixed - one four-barrel General Dynamics GAU-22 / A 25mm cannon, suspended - up to 8100 kg load.
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