f-35 - Gizmodo

posts about #f35 more →
How They Make the F-35 Lightning II: Inside the Lockheed Martin Factory Video
Killer 5th Generation Russian Stealth Superfighters
How the F-35 Demon Helmet Looks Inside
Cyber-Spies Hack Into Ultra-Sensitive Pentagon Fighter Jet Project
A Look at Fifth Generation Fighter Planes
Britain Building Next-Generation Aircraft Carriers for F-35 Fighters
Guy Builds F-35 Fighter Jet On His Own
Build Your Own F-35 Lightning II Fighter Jet
First Military Pilot Review of the F-35 Strike Fighter (Verdict: Kicks Ass)
Prototype F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Helmet Sees Into Your Soul

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strider_mt2k
07/19/09

In reply to How They Make the F-35 Lightning II: Inside the Lockheed Martin Factory Video
Electro-nuclear carbeuration seems okay...
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bobdobbs
07/18/09

In reply to How They Make the F-35 Lightning II: Inside the Lockheed Martin Factory Video
I so want one of these. Just so's I can park it in my driveway while I sip beer on my porch and look at her.
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TheSonOfKrypton
07/18/09

In reply to How They Make the F-35 Lightning II: Inside the Lockheed Martin Factory Video
It's really too bad this thing doesn't have a diploid chromosomal count compatible with humans......Otherwise, she and I would make sweet SWEET love and pop out little invisible to radar Kryptonians.
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The Red Comet
07/18/09

@TheSonOfKrypton: You can probably still do that through the Electronic Mate and Alignment System ;)
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Bress Tess Iz
07/07/09

In reply to Killer 5th Generation Russian Stealth Superfighters
Lame

Those pictures are the same as those artist renditions of the F-117 in the 90s from before they revealed the Wobbly Goblin.

Tom Clancy even had a plane looking like that in his US-Soviet WWIII novel Red Strom Rising

Looks like Ivan is about 20yrs behind the times
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marcsiry
07/07/09

@Bress Tess Iz: Yep, this looks almost exactly like the Testor's model of the "F-19 Stealth Fighter:"

[www.modelingmadness.com]

I was wondering if anyone else would mention that.
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OMG! Ponies!
07/07/09

In reply to Killer 5th Generation Russian Stealth Superfighters
This is what it turns into:

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GitEmSteveDave_HurtHisKnee
07/07/09

@OMG! Ponies!: DAMN YOU. Now I have to watch Transmorphers and Transmorphers 2:Fall of Man to erase the negative feelings I held against an SR-71.
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Noobs-R-Us
07/07/09

In reply to Killer 5th Generation Russian Stealth Superfighters
Reminds me of the plane from the 80's movie about a Russkie secret fighter starring Clint Eastwood, Firefox.

Anyhow, it's not just about the equipment but also who's operating it. U.S. fighter pilots are trained way better than their Russkie counterparts.
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Jim Topoleski
07/07/09

@Noobs-R-Us: You know that movie is a semi-true story?

Its highly glamorized and dramatized to the point little is based on fact, but the Firefox is actually based on the real Mig-25 Foxfire, which scared the bejesus out of the west when we first started seeing it show up because of how fast it was as a interceptor, capable of actually intercepting the SR-71.

Firefox the movie is a fictional retelling of how the US finally got to see one up close, when a pilot defected to Japan.
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GitEmSteveDave_HurtHisKnee
07/07/09

@Noobs-R-Us: Whenever I upgrade Firefox, I expect to see a grizzled Clint Eastwood's face pop up on my browser, and speak bad Russian.
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four12
07/07/09

@Jim Topoleski: The MiG-25 was developed, at hideous expense and effort, to counter the American XB-70.

We never seriously intended to build the XB-70, it was primarily for research and concept validation, but as soon as we saw the Soviets were in a lather about it, the supposedly "ultra secret" project was leaked just enough to ensure they wasted tons of rubles on defending against it.
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Daveinva
07/08/09

@four12: Yes we did. The XB-70 was a prototype for an intended fully-operational bomber. There was nothing ultra-secret about it.

The internet, as always, is your friend.

[en.wikipedia.org]
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GitEmSteveDave_HurtHisKnee
07/08/09

@Daveinva: And the cockpit was an ejection vehicle.
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GitEmSteveDave_HurtHisKnee
07/07/09

In reply to Killer 5th Generation Russian Stealth Superfighters
Almost looks like someone saw the movie Stealth, as wasn't distracted by Jessica Biel.
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newdeepdan
07/07/09

In reply to Killer 5th Generation Russian Stealth Superfighters
Sukhoi = Sugoi?

anyone else get it?
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Hello Mister Walrus
07/07/09

@newdeepdan: Sigh.
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Serolf Divad
07/07/09

In reply to Killer 5th Generation Russian Stealth Superfighters
But how can the Ruskies afford to build any of these? We can barely afford ours!
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92BuickLeSabre
07/07/09

@Serolf Divad: *puts hands to temple*

I see a massive oil shortage. Pipelines inexplicably encountering significant maintenance downtime. Unusual weather reported, leading to unexpected downtime in drilling schedules. And then just a string of figures...$4.50...$4.75...$5.85.
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Kaiser-Machead
07/07/09

@Serolf Divad: Photoshop and AutoCAD are cheap by comparison. ;)
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Purple Dave
05/11/09

In reply to How the F-35 Demon Helmet Looks Inside
Das Helmut?
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mocax
05/11/09

In reply to How the F-35 Demon Helmet Looks Inside
what if the pilot needs to scratch an itch.... and can't find his hands or his.....um.... balls??
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FredicvsMaximvs
05/11/09

@mocax: I imagine the balls on most fighter pilots are not that hard to find.
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Sora57 is rendering
04/21/09

In reply to Cyber-Spies Hack Into Ultra-Sensitive Pentagon Fighter Jet Project
It is my understanding that the military purchased lots of computer chips from China and uses them in everything from aircraft to desktops. Perhaps the groundwork for espionage was built into the manufacturing process.
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Lite: hates Illinois Nazis
03/02/09

In reply to A Look at Fifth Generation Fighter Planes
People who ask why we need this plane, are the same kind of people who ask why we need the military. The idea isn't that we want to use the equipment, the idea is that we keep the force ready so that ideally we discourage people from making us use it.

The planes these are replacing have reached the end of their airframe life.
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greasypigarvin
03/02/09

@Lite: supports Bacon Salt...And so should you.: It's not like we are nor do we need to keep the actual 1970's era F-15's maintained, it just seems like we can build new F-15E's with upgraded avionics and still maintain air dominance. At the very least certainly no plane's come close to matching the F-22, so why the need to spend the billions to get the next generation already.
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Lite: hates Illinois Nazis
03/02/09

@greasypigarvin: Because that technology also trickles out into the public domain as well, creates jobs, etc.

The point is to stay ahead of people, not keep up w/ them.

Pretty much it's government funded research that eventually ends up in public domain for other companies to use for profit/technology advancement.
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Robert Speed
03/02/09

In reply to A Look at Fifth Generation Fighter Planes
Turn and burn lots of cash. Great plane but like a recently acquired PC its tech is obsolete. Granted it surpasses anything out there but unless it can detect a nuclear brief case at 50,000 feet. It can only look forward to smaller and smaller budget. The UAVs are coming and the A 10s can will be upgraded.
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balls187
03/02/09

@BlackMage is doing the Time Warp agaaaaaaain!!!: I liked JSF better.
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BlackMage is doing the Time Warp agaaaaaaain!!!
03/02/09

In reply to A Look at Fifth Generation Fighter Planes
An awesome plane, for sure, though I wish the geniuses developed a more original name.

The F-35 is called the Lightning II for a reason. The original P-38 Lightning was an aircraft flown by the US in WWII. It was primarily a highly maneuverable and fast fighter bomber, thanks to its twin-engine design.

While the F-35 does have some similarities in function to the P-38, it's an entirely different aircraft. A single, jet engine. Stealth. Mostly designed for air-to-air combat, since I doubt you'll be able to cram a ton of bombs (literally) onto its tiny airframe. The most important part is the VTOL (vertical take-off & landing) aspect of the F-35, pioneered by the Harrier and Osprey. The P-38 could definitely not take off or land vertically. The Harrier II would be a much better fit, even though the Harrier has more structural resemblance to the F-4 Phantom.

Sorry for the aero-geek tirade, but I do loves me my planes. And the shows Dogfights & Battle 360 on the History Channel!
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KhaiJB
03/02/09

@BlackMage is doing the Time Warp agaaaaaaain!!!: it's also named for the British Electric Lightning.
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Kaiser-Machead
03/02/09

@BlackMage is doing the Time Warp agaaaaaaain!!!: I'd say the Harrier has a more structural resemblance to the A-6 Intruder.
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Jay Beezy
03/02/09

@BlackMage is doing the Time Warp agaaaaaaain!!!: The Harrier was one of the ugliest fighter jets known to man.
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Lite: hates Illinois Nazis
03/02/09

@Jay Beezy: A10 still beats it... And blows holes in it too.
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