The Interesting Facts About the US's F-35A Stealth Fighter Jet
International Military - Interesting F-35A stealth fighter jets belonging to the United States (US) are worth reviewing. The reason is, this stealth fighter jet is known as one of the best defense equipment owned by the US. What are some interesting facts? Here's the complete information.
1. Replacement for the F-16 A-10 Thunderbolt II Fighter Jet Fleet
The US Air Force is presenting the F-35A fighter jet to replace its aging fleet of F-16 Fighting Falcons and A-10 Thunderbolt IIs. It is known, the US has used both for more than 20 years. The F-35A stealth multi-role fighter jet was first introduced on August 2, 2016 by the USAF (United States Air Force). The F-35A has the GAU-22/A gun which is a four-barreled version of the 25mm GAU-12 Equalizer gun. The cannon carried by this jet is internally mounted with 182 rounds.
2. Able to Dominate the Sky
This latest jet certainly has various sophistications that are able to dominate the sky. Launching the official website of the USAF, the F-35A has the ability to survive even in a threatening environment. This jet also has CTOL (Conventional Take-Off and Landing) capability, which is a conventional take-off and landing process, like a passenger plane in general.
The F-35A fighter jet is equipped with a sophisticated sensor suite with the ability to collect, combine and distribute more information than any other fighter in the world, even in history. The sensor that this fighter jet has is the DAS or electro-optical distributed aperture system. This can provide awareness for the pilot of the surrounding environment situationally. Through this system, the pilot's vision will also be helped, both during the day and at night.
3. Do not fly near thunderstorms
F-35A fighter jets are known to be unable to fly within 40.2 km or about 25 miles of thunderstorms. Not only that, this plane also cannot carry out its flight near the electrical activity of the atmosphere. Of course, this flight ban will affect F-35A training activities, especially around Eglin Air Base in Florida. Because this location is quite often hit by thunderstorms.
4. Cheaper Prices Compared to Other Aircraft
The next fact, the price of the F-35A which is considered very high. Forbes says, the price of this jet is USD 78 million per unit (in 2021). Apparently, the price has been much lower than previous years. However, this figure is actually considered better when compared to other newest Western aircraft, such as the Rafale and Typhoon which can reach USD 100 million. On the other hand, the Pentagon is said to have budgeted up to USD 400 billion for the procurement of 2,500 F-35 units, including 1,763 F-35A units.