1,400 billion USD is the total amount of money experts estimate Washington must spend to buy and maintain the operation of a super fighter complex F-35 of about 2,400 aircraft, making this fighter model the most expensive and costly weapon in the world owned by the US military.
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| The US Marine Corps announced on July 30 that the first squadron of 10 F-35 fifth-generation stealth fighters was ready for combat, a major milestone for the super-advanced weapons program. The F-35 is a multi-role aircraft that can carry out attacks on land, at sea and also conduct reconnaissance missions. The F-35 was designed and manufactured by an aviation industry consortium led by Lockheed Martin and members BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman. Participating sponsoring countries include the UK, Italy, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Turkey, Australia and Canada. In this photo, sailors and technicians on the USS Wasp aircraft carrier refuel an F-35B fighter during a test in May. Photo: Reuters |
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| An F-35 being assembled at the factory. According to the initial announcement, the contract value of this project is 391 billion USD. Some recent reports said that the Pentagon has to spend about 1.4 trillion USD to buy and maintain the F-35 super fighter fleet of about 2,400 aircraft. This makes it the most expensive and costly weapon in the world. Photo: Lockheed Martin |
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| The F-35 has three variants: F-35A, F-35B and F-35C. Of which, F-35A has the ability to take off and land like a conventional fighter, F-35B takes off on short runways and lands vertically like a helicopter, F-35C is deployed on aircraft carriers. All versions of the F-35 are equipped with stealth technology, reach supersonic speeds and are equipped with modern cameras that help pilots observe 360 degrees from the cockpit to the ground. The F-35 is considered the backbone in the development of Washington's future fighter jets thanks to its advanced radar avoidance mechanism. In particular, one of the technologies that helps the F-35 dominate the sky and become a terror to any military force is its ability to refuel in the air, helping to maximize its range of operations. Photo: Breaking Defense |
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The F-35B is about the same size as the F-35A, but this variant sacrifices about a third of its fuel to use the vertical flight system. The LiftSystem engine, invented by Lockheed Martin and developed by Rolls-Royce, located along the front of the main engine is the part that creates lift, allowing the aircraft to take off and land vertically. The F-35B version is the most expensive fighter of the three F-35 models that Lockheed Martin is building under a contract with the US Department of Defense. Each F-35B costs about $134 million. Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford, who was recently approved by the Senate as chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, emphasized that the F-35B's ability to launch and carry out missions from landing pads or aircraft carriers at sea "will change the way we fight and win". Photo: Lockheed Martin |
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| The F-35C super fighter version is built specifically for the navy, with larger wings than other F-35 models and foldable wingtips. The large wing and rudder sections help pilots easily control when flying at low speeds. In addition, the landing system has also been upgraded to be more solid to withstand the load when landing on an aircraft carrier. The US Navy also plans to turn the F-35C into a command brain for unmanned reconnaissance and attack devices (UCLASS). When acting as a center in the naval network, the F-35C will provide information and command other UCLASS to target specific targets. The more F-35C aircraft operate in the field, the more information the UCLASS complex will have to recreate the entire battlefield, increasing the probability of successful mission execution. Photo: Wikipedia |
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| The F-35 can carry about 8,000 kg of ammunition, most of which are the most modern weapons of the US military, such as: AIM-120, AIM-132, AIM-9X air-to-air missiles, JDAM smart bombs, Paveway, AGM-154, AGM-158 point-attack missiles. By trading off stealth features, many missiles, bombs and additional fuel tanks can be mounted on the four underwing hardpoints and two wingtip positions of the F-35. Photo: Lockheed Martin |
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| Because it is part of a multinational fighter development program, in addition to weapons produced by the US, the F-35 is also capable of carrying weapons from partner countries such as the Storm Shadow long-range air-to-ground cruise missile manufactured by MBDA, the SOM cruise missile from Türkiye, or the IRIS-T and Meteor air-to-air missiles. Photo: Military.com |
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| F-35 production is expected to increase sharply over the next five years. The number of aircraft owned by the US and its partner countries is expected to increase from 123 today to 650 by 2020. Photo: Business Insider |
According to VNE
