Washington: During meeting with PM Modi, US President Donald Trump on Thursday said that the United States will be increasing its military sales to India by billions of dollars and his administration is paving the way to provide India with F35 Stealth fighters. “Starting this year, we will be increasing military sales to India by many billions of dollars. We are also paving the way to ultimately provide India with the F35, Stealth fighters,” Trump said.
What are the variants of F-35 jets
Developed by Lockheed Martin for the United States and its allies, the F-35 Lightning II is one of the world’s most advanced and versatile fighter jets. These fighter jets can integrate advanced stealth, unparalleled situational awareness and networked combat capabilities. Moreover, these jets can operate without detection at supersonic speeds.
Each jet costs around:
- $80 million for the F-35A (standard version)
- $115 million for the F-35B (short takeoff/vertical landing)
- $110 million for the F-35C (designed for aircraft carriers)
- Operating an F-35 is also very costly, with each flight hour costing about $36,000
F-35 fighter jet: Check its special features
- Manufactured and designed by Lockheed Martin for the United States, the F-35 is one of the most advanced and versatile fighter jets in the world. Defence experts say the F-35 may be the stealthiest fighter in operation today.
- These F-35 fighter jets use a single F135 engine that produces 40,000 pounds of thrust, permitting it to reach speeds as high as Mach 1.6 (1,200 mph).
- The cockpit of the F-35 fight jets is unlike other fighter jets and doesn’t have gauges or screens like other aircraft and favours large touchscreens and a helmet-mounted display system that allows the pilot to see real-time information.
- Moreover, the helmet also allows the pilot to look directly through the aircraft, thanks to the F-35’s Distributed Aperture System (DAS) and suite of six infrared cameras mounted strategically around the aircraft.
- These F-35 fighter jets have a weapons payload of 6,000 kg to 8,100 kg, which means they can carry heavy weaponry without compromising their stealth.
