The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor remains one of the world’s most capable air superiority fighters, but its pilots do not use the advanced Helmet Mounted Display System (HMDS) that has become a defining feature of the newer F-35 Lightning II.
F-35 Stealth Fighter Jet
US lawmakers revive the F-35 pitch to Spain after the FCAS collapse, as Madrid weighs Turkey’s KAAN fighter instead.
The US Marine Corps has accepted 6 F-35B jets without radars, fitting ballast in the nose cones to maintain weight and balance. A delayed Northrop Grumman AN/APG-85 radar is the cause, and the Air Force and Navy will face the same situation later this year.
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has completed a landmark weapons testing milestone on the F-35A Lightning II, conducting the first joint Weapon Fill Measurement Vehicle (WFMV) flight test in partnership with the United States Air Force.
Poland welcomes its first F-35A Husarz fighters into service, becoming NATO’s first eastern flank fifth-gen operator.
The US Air Force’s F-35A recorded the highest full mission-capable rate among all F-35 variants in fiscal 2025, yet only 28.5 percent of the jets could perform all assigned missions at any given time, according to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.
USAF F-35A jets arrive at Misawa Air Base in Japan, taking over the Wild Weasel mission for the 35th Fighter Wing.
Germany’s first F-35A Lightning II has reached a major production milestone after receiving its Pratt & Whitney F135-PW-100 engine at Lockheed Martin’s facility near Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Texas.
From stealth technology and artificial intelligence-powered sensors to massive weapons payloads and supercruise capabilities, modern fighter aircraft represent the pinnacle of military engineering.
US Air Force plans 108 new aircraft in FY2027 as slow industry output limits fighter and tanker fleet growth plans.