Earlier this month the US Air Force told Reuters that America's most expensive weapons system ever built is on track for "initial combat use" by September 2016. Designed and manufactured at Lockheed Martin's massive production facility in Fort Worth, Texas, the F-35 Lightning II can carry an impressive 18,000 pounds of lethal ammunition.
Lockheed's F-35 program includes three variant aircrafts (the F-35A, F-35B, and F-35C), each designed to meet the specific needs of America's sister service branches and a number of foreign military buyers like the United Kingdom, Australia, Netherlands, Norway, Japan, South Korea, and Israel.
Lockheed says that each F-35A jet, also referred to as the Conventional Takeoff and Landing (CTOL), costs $103 million (not including engine) and is the most requested of the three aircrafts. Thus far, approximately 65 of the anticipated 1,763 F-35A jets have been delivered to the Department of Defense.
The F-35's carry a similar arsenal except that the F-35A is the only variant to feature an internal cannon, which is located on the left side of the jet between the cockpit and wing.
Channeling Nancy Pelousy: You have to click on the link to see the photos and graphics at the link!