F-35 Supersonic Bomber Makes First Bomb Drop In Mojave Desert
Submitted by News Desk 2 on Thu, 10/18/2012 - 17:18
Los Angeles, CA -
Lockheed Martin passed another milestone as its next generation F-35 fighter jet dropped a 2,000 bomb on a bombing range in the Mojave Desert at the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station test range, it was piloted by Air Force Maj. Eric "Doc" Schultz.
The F-35, known as the Joint Strike Fighter, is a supersonic stealth fighter planned to be added to the military's Air Force, navy and Marine Corps.
The military plans to but 2,443 at a cost of $382 billion.
The United Kingdom, Italy, Netherlands, Australia, Canada, Norway, Denmark, Turkey, Israel and Japan are part of the development program and are also set to receive variants of the F-35 Lightening.
The U.S. is purchasing three variants;
F-35A, conventional take off and landing (CTOL) variant.
F-35B, short-take off and vertical-landing (STOVL) variant.
F-35C, carrier-based CATOBAR (CV) variant.
Depending on the variant, the F-35 can achieve speeds exceeding 1200mph and fly as high as 60,000 feet and produces a max thrust of 43,000 pounds with after-burners.
It can carry up to eight different types of bombs, including nuclear, and 11 different types of missiles.
