The world’s first operational jet-powered fighter brought unprecedented speed to combat, but arrived too late and in too few numbers to alter the war. Allied pilots learned to attack it during takeoff and landing, when its early jet engines and slow acceleration left this otherwise revolutionary aircraft most vulnerable.
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
METRICMe 262 SchwalbeF-35A Lightning II
Top speed
540 mphREFERENCE VALUE
Mach 1.6REFERENCE VALUE
Ceiling
37,565 ftREFERENCE VALUE
50,000 ftREFERENCE VALUE
Range
652 miREFERENCE VALUE
1,200+ nmiAPPROXIMATE / PUBLISHED
Archive milestone
Service entry · 1944REFERENCE VALUE
Service entry · 2016REFERENCE VALUE
Nation
GermanyDESCRIPTIVE VALUE
United StatesDESCRIPTIVE VALUE
Primary role
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.
