X-35B - U.S. Marine Corp Version of JSF: Joint Strike Fighter Prototype [Image 1 of 3]

ARLINGTON, VA, UNITED STATES

07.20.2001

Courtesy Photo

F-35 Joint Program Office

On July 20, 2001, Mission X took place over the desert in California while an ongoing competition to choose the next joint strike fighter continued. Maj. Art Tomassetti, USMC successfully performed an aviation hat trick: a short takeoff, a level supersonic dash, and a vertical landing in an aircraft named the X-35B. The single-seat, single-engine X-35 was the prototype aircraft for the new F-35, next-generation, supersonic, multi-role stealth aircraft designed to replace the aging 4th-generation fighter aircraft worldwide.

Three X-35 variants were built and all had a high degree of commonality.

~ The X-35A was a conventional-takeoff-and-landing (CTOL) variant built to U.S. Air Force specifications.
~ The X-35B short-takeoff-vertical-landing (STOVL) demonstrator was designed to meet U.S. Marine Corps and British Royal Air Force/Royal Navy requirements and featured a unique shaft-driven lift fan that amplified engine thrust and reduced exhaust temperature and velocity during vertical flight operations.
~ The X-35C was designed to satisfy U.S. Navy requirements and featured a larger wing and control surfaces than the other JSF variants, and had an increased-capacity structure for absorbing catapult launches and arrested.

Courtesy Photo By - Denny Lombard

• Date Taken: 07.20.2001
• Date Posted: 07.20.2022 09:36
• Photo ID: 7324306
• VIRIN: 010720-D-D0478-622
• Resolution: 4000x2250
• Size: 4.31 MB
• Location: ARLINGTON, VA, US