Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II, a fifth-generation lethal fighter jet, has recently come into the spotlight due to frequent media attention. Though this most celebrated highly advanced fighter jet with air superiority gained Indian media attention in recent times, it has been ruling the skies since 2006. The design of the jets gives the pilots an advantage against any adversary, enabling them to execute any difficult mission.
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American-made single-seat, single-engine, supersonic stealth strike fighter. A multirole combat aircraft designed for both air superiority and strike missions, it also has electronic warfare and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities. The aircraft has three main variants: the conventional takeoff and landing F-35A, the short take-off and vertical-landing F-35B, and the carrier variant catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery F-35C.
The fighter jet gained attention when a British-owned, US-made F-35 fighter jet made an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport in Kerala. They had taken off from the Royal Navy’s aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, but couldn’t land back due to adverse weather. The F-35 also gained limelight after the Iranian army claimed to have neutralised three F-35 fighter jets using its air defence system. All pilots were captured alive while Iran became the first country in the world to shoot down stealth F-35 fighters. An Israeli spokesperson has argued that the statement made by Iran is completely baseless and false.
Though Iran has not produced any images of the neutralised fighter jets, due to the advanced capability it possesses, it is not an easy target. Along with advanced stealth, which enables it to avoid radar, and the sensors, it can track the enemy, jam radars and thwart attacks. Beyond Visual Range (BVR) weapons, missiles like the MBDA Meteor allow the F-35 to engage targets before they are even visible to the naked eye. It is also capable of flying long distances without refuelling due to additional fuel tanks. To shoot down an F-35 fighter jet would mean that Iran has an extraordinary air defence capability. So far, there is no known incident of neutralising an F-35 anywhere in the world.
Due to such advantages, China has made a cheap copy of the F-35 fighter jets named Shenyang J-35, which is are series of Chinese single-seater, twin-engine, all-weather, stealth multirole combat aircraft manufactured by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC), designed for air superiority and surface strike missions.
The F-35 Fighter jets were a major attraction during the Aero India 2025. Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump offered to include India among the select group of nations authorised to buy the F-35 aircraft from the US. But so far, no formal agreement has been signed by India and the US for the procurement.
