When the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) competition was awarded to Lockheed Martin in late 2001, there was much excitement. The time was right to begin with a next generation fighter program to replace aging fleets in the U.S. and among its allies abroad, and -- of equal importance -- to keep the defense advanced technology base moving forward and avoid the risk of an international brain drain and military-industrial complex atrophy. The F-35 program that emerged proposed to build a dual-role tactical aircraft capable of both air-to-ground (strike) and air-to-air (fighter) combat operations. It is a fifth-generation aircraft designed to incorporate the most modern technology such as thrust vectoring, composite materials, stealth technology, advanced radar and sensors, and integrated avionics to greatly improve pilot situational awareness.

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