It is safe to say that many experts now believe that the American-made F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is in the realm of conversation to be the best fighter jet ever to fly.
Is the F-35 the best fighter jet ever? 1,000 built, and nations all over the world want them: It is safe to say that many experts now believe that the American-made F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is in the realm of conversation to be the best fighter jet ever to fly.
For years, the U.S. Air Force’s F-22 Raptor took the air superiority title as the first fifth-generation jet to enter service. Over the years, Moscow and Beijing have developed their parallel fifth-gen programs culminating in the Su-57 and Chengdu J-20, respectively.
While these foreign fighters may be near-peers to the mighty F-35, aviation buffs largely agree that they remain inferior.
The Joint Strike Fighter’s popularity extends across the globe. The powerhouse platform will likely become America’s top military export in the upcoming years.
Origin Story of the F-35 Fighter
The F-35 is rooted in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Advanced Short Take-Off/Vertical Landing (ASTOVL) study from the mid-1980s to mid-1990s.