Portal:Military of the United States/Featured article/16

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The F-35 Lightning II is a single-seat, single-engined military strike fighter, a multi-role aircraft that can perform close air support, tactical bombing, and air-to-air combat. It is being designed and built by an aerospace industry team led by Lockheed Martin and major partners BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman. Demonstrator aircraft flew in 2000; first flight of production models is expected in late 2006. The JSF evolved from a DARPA program to develop an STOVL Strike Fighter (SSF) for the US Marine Corps. In 1992 the Marines and US Air Force agreed to jointly develop a Common, Lightweight Strike Fighter, based on the SSF.

The primary customers and financial backers are the United States and the United Kingdom. Eight other nations are also funding the aircraft's development and will decide in 2006 whether or not to purchase it. Total program development costs, less procurement, are estimated at over US$40 billion, of which the bulk has been underwritten by the United States.