China’s first operational stealth fighter uses a large internal-weapons airframe, advanced sensors, and long range for contested air operations. Its canards, broad fuselage, and emphasis on reach suggest a design shaped not only for fighter combat but also for threatening support aircraft and influencing operations far from its bases.
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
METRICJ-20 Mighty DragonF-35A Lightning II
Top speed
Mach 2 classAPPROXIMATE / PUBLISHED
Mach 1.6REFERENCE VALUE
Ceiling
66,000 ftREFERENCE VALUE
50,000 ftREFERENCE VALUE
Range
ClassifiedCLASSIFIED
1,200+ nmiAPPROXIMATE / PUBLISHED
Archive milestone
Service entry · 2017REFERENCE VALUE
Service entry · 2016REFERENCE VALUE
Nation
ChinaDESCRIPTIVE VALUE
United StatesDESCRIPTIVE VALUE
Primary role
Stealth air-superiority fighterDESCRIPTIVE 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.
