US stealth fighters arrive in Persian Gulf, ready to fire
The US Navy's state-of-the-art F-35B Lightning stealth fighters are expected to carry out their first combat mission within the next few days, according to multiple US defense officials.
CNNCiting US military sources, the US Navy's fifth-generation fighter jets are on standby on the USS Essex amphibious assault ship and will soon be in position to launch airstrikes from the skies over Afghanistan.
The USS Essex has departed from the Gulf of Aden and is moving into northern Arabian waters, a US official said, before it is expected to reach the Persian Gulf in a few days.
The F-35B is one of three versions of the F-35 and is the only one capable of landing vertically like a helicopter. It can also take off in much tighter spaces than other fighters.
This is why the F-35B can dock and operate from the USS Essex, a warship that is only half the size of the US Navy's other 100,000-ton aircraft carriers.
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| According to public data, the F-35 is expected to retail for between $83 and $108 million per aircraft, depending on the specific version. |
Many experts praise the F-35 as the "future of the world's air force" because this fighter jet, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, possesses many outstanding advantages in speed, stealth, and accurate attack of targets compared to previous generations of fighter jets.
However, versions of the F-35 have faced fierce criticism in recent years, due to a long list of shortcomings, including problems with software, engines and accompanying weapons.
