  The Boeing X-32, left, and the X-35 from Lockheed Martin. JOE MCNALLY / GETTY IMAGES
Why the F-35 Is Such a Badass Plane Is it America's most capable fighter, or America's most expensive headache? Why not both? BY: Alex Hollings
Refueling under cover of darkness, a massive formation of U.S. Air Force, Royal Air Force, and Australian Air Force aircraft prepared for combat.
Fourth-generation fighters hailing from all three nations—including F-16 Fighting Falcons, F-15 Eagles, and Eurofighter Typhoons—coordinated with E-8 Joint STARS command-and-control aircraft. As their stealthy escorts, both F-22 Raptors and F-35 Joint Strike Fighters surveyed the battlespace.
Soon, cockpit displays in each aircraft began to light up and alarms sounded, indicating that the formation was being painted by multiple radar arrays tied to surface-to-air missiles and inbound fighters. Enemy fighters sporting the color schemes of Russian Su-30s began to close in.
"On the last week of a Red Flag exercise we really throw everything we have at the Blue Force and replicate the toughest adversary possible," says Travolis "Jaws" Simmons, commander of the 57th Adversary Tactics Group.
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Minggu, 31 Januari 2021
Why the F-35 Is Such a Badass Plane
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