Nicknamed the missile with a man in it, the Starfighter paired a tiny wing with blistering climb and supersonic speed. Designed first as a lightweight interceptor, it was later adapted for strike and reconnaissance, though its demanding high-speed approach and limited low-speed margin required disciplined training and careful operation.
INTERACTIVE MODEL LOADS WHEN NEARBY
2016 / ModernAirframe B
F-35A Lightning II
Lockheed Martin · Conventional multirole fighter
HISTORICAL FIELD NOTE
The conventional-runway F-35A combines low-observable shaping, sensor fusion, and internal weapons carriage with the lightest airframe and largest internal fuel load of the three F-35 variants. It entered U.S. Air Force operational service in 2016 and is designed for both air-to-air and precision-strike missions.
PERFORMANCE
SPECIFICATION BREAKDOWN
METRICF-104 StarfighterF-35A Lightning II
Top speed
Mach 2.0REFERENCE VALUE
Mach 1.6REFERENCE VALUE
Ceiling
58,000 ftREFERENCE VALUE
50,000 ftREFERENCE VALUE
Range
1,630 miREFERENCE VALUE
1,200+ nmiAPPROXIMATE / PUBLISHED
Archive milestone
Service entry · 1958REFERENCE VALUE
Service entry · 2016REFERENCE VALUE
Nation
United StatesDESCRIPTIVE VALUE
United StatesDESCRIPTIVE VALUE
Primary role
Supersonic interceptorDESCRIPTIVE VALUE
Conventional multirole fighterDESCRIPTIVE VALUE
Values are concise archive references and can vary by variant, payload, configuration, altitude, operating conditions, and source. Range may describe different published measures where a directly comparable figure is unavailable.
