Photos of the F-35 Lightning II roll-out

[Destro]

The paint scheme is gonna change over time too, especially if they sell it (the airplane) to other countries.

[TenguNoHi]

Im more dissapointed that they opted to use the same canopy on every frame rather than use a bubble with better rear visibility for the A and Cs.

-Aaron

[Dammerung]

I think it looks nice. And if a JSF is in close, that means the F-22s didn't do their job, so I can see why they chose that canopy.

[LordOfBunnies]

Have we forgotten that you can look THROUGH the plane. It's embedded with little camera and sensors all over so when the pilot turns his head, he sees outside of the plane. Canopy doesn't matter as much if you can look through your plane. Some of the F-35 guys have mentioned the existence of this system before and I'll defer to them.

[Scorpion1alpha]

Im more dissapointed that they opted to use the same canopy on every frame rather than use a bubble with better rear visibility for the A and Cs.

-Aaron

RCS considerations. And.....visibility is just fine, even without the HMD.

[asiatrails]

Looks cool. Here is a link to Flight magazine's comparison of the aircraft

http://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/20 ... pared.html

[asiatrails]

That paints scheme to me is Fugly :s

Its the NASCAR / F1 look. One good high speed pass through a rainstorm will improve it. (maybe)

[TenguNoHi]

RCS considerations. And.....visibility is just fine, even without the HMD.

See, I personally believe that visibility can never be "just fine". It can only get more perfect. Situational awareness is the precursor to victory in any kind of combat, whether it be air combat or other. A lot of people hear the term and think of things like Radars and Avionics almost immediatly. Has the Mk 1 Eyeball been forgotten? This is THE most reliable sensor or enemy position and activity there is, even if it is a bit short ranged. And we can't rely on one air frame to do their job so another air frame can do hers. F-22 is still not a proven fighter, and it is in limited and small quantities; and as a personal oppinion, even if I knew every air field within 200 miles of my target zone was cratered, I would still fly expecting an enemy fighter on my six at any moment. Additionally, enemy fighters aren't the only thing to be spotted visually, but SAM launches and strafing targets as well. Needless impeding obstacles are an aggrivation but I must say it's a step up from the F-117.

-Aaron

[RonO]

Not sure that color will be customer choice given the LO considerations.

[danimal1504]

anybody else think JSF is uglier than just about any other airplane theyve ever seen? i dont know, maybe im too old school or something...

[LordOfBunnies]

Danimal, have you ever seen the X-32. It was the F-35's competitor, it is one of the most god awful ugly pieces of engineering ever to fly. Check the flying dumpster out.

[MKopack]

Danimal, have you ever seen the X-32. It was the F-35's competitor, it is one of the most god awful ugly pieces of engineering ever to fly. Check the flying dumpster out.

What? The yawning hippo...?

Mike

[idesof]

The bump on the right side is the gun.

Okay, am I the only one who is wondering what effect this horrendous fairing will have on the aircraft's RCS?

[parrothead]

Actually, part of the intake is removed in this photo as they had to yank parts off to make weight for the STOVL portion of the testing . What a FOXTROTTING MONSTROSITY !!!

[idesof]

Actually, part of the intake is removed in this photo as they had to yank parts off to make weight for the STOVL portion of the testing . What a FOXTROTTING MONSTROSITY !!!

Apparently, at one point this birdie was nicknamed "The Monica" (as in Lewinsky)