F-35 In Service

It was Lockheed Martin that came up finally came up with a design that resulted in the remarkable F-35, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter. In this book, Gérard Keijsper explores the long and difficult journey that customers led to buying the Lockheed Martin F-35. Gérard reveals the story of the F-35 in service.

First flown on 15 December 2006, the F-35 achieved Initial Operational Capability with the US Marine Corps in July 2015, being followed soon after, in August 2016, by the USAF. The US Navy, meanwhile, reached this milestone in February 2019. Other nations that have since purchased the F-35 include the United Kingdom, for both the RAF and the Royal Navy, Israel, under which service the type undertook its first combat mission in 2018, Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Japan, South Korea and Italy. Several countries have signed up and are awaiting deliveries such as Belgium, Finland, Germany, Poland, Switzerland and Singapore. There is a long list of potential customers.

This, then, is a fascinating and highly illustrated study of the F-35 in service which, in Lockheed Martin’s own words, is the most lethal, survivable, and connected fighter jet in the world.