F-35C Lightning II

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	To oppose or discuss a nomination, please go to CZ:Proposed for deletion and follow the instructions. For the monthly nomination lists, see Category:Articles for deletion. The F-35C Lighting II is the United States Navy]] version of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter]], a carrier-capable]], conventional takeoff and landing]] (CTOL) aircraft that will be catapulted from the deck of an aircraft carrier]], and land with the usual naval tailhook]] and arresting wire system. For those of us who have trouble remembering which F-35 version is for which service, remember the C suffix. In some literature, C is written as "CV", the Navy designation force. It will replace the earlier, not "super" F-18 Hornet|F-18 A/B/C/D Hornet]] multirole fighters. To optimize it for carrier operations, the wings and tail surfaces are larger than in the Air Force version, which give better low-speed landing performance; the airframe also is stronger to take the stress of catapulting and arrested launch. It has a Navy-style air refueling]] probe. Avionics Since this aircraft emphasizes attack, it will be built around the nose-mounted electro-optical targeting system (EOTS). This replaces the current LANTIRN]] pod built around an AN/AAQ-13]] navigation pod and AN/AAQ-14]] targeting pod, AAQ-28|AN/AAQ-28]] LITENING, and Sniper XR ground targeting systems, but also can provide helmet-based MASINT#cueing|cueing]] for air-to-air missile]]s. Having the EOTS not be pod-mounted offers several advantages: External pods defeat stealth If external stores are carried, the pods take up places where weapons could be attached There are no parallax]] problems when EOTS is on the same axis as the radar The F-35 radar will be the AESA APG-81|AN/APG-81]], which has significant commonality with the AN/APG-77 of the F-22 Raptor]]. Currently unique to the F-35C is the AAS-37|AN/AAS-37 distributed aperture sensor]], which puts an electro-optical camera on each of the six axes of the aircraft, allowing the pilot to see in all directions on the "glass cockpit" display. General information Carrier based, stealthy, multi-role, next-generation strike fighter Power Plant: Pratt & Whitney - F-135 or GE/Rolls-Royce GET F-136 Mission Radius: Requirement - 600 nm USN Projected -650 nm Top Speed: Supersonic Crew: Pilot Weapons Payload: 18,000 lbs Internal Weapons (all weapons must be internal for the aircraft to be stealth|stealthy]]): Two air-to-air missiles (e.g., AIM-120 AMRAAM]] Two 2,000 lb-class air-to-ground precision weapons e.g., JDAM]] guidance kits on two Mk. 84 2,000 bombs or GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb]]s External Weapons: Variety, ~13,000 lbs Six underwing hardpoints Four air-to-ground and/or air-to-air missiles Two Infrared missiles Cannon: 25mm missionized pod Maiden Flight: 2009 Production: 340 Unitary Cost: USD$50 million References