Billion-Dollar Beasts: Exploring the Most Expensive Military Vehicles to Ever Hit the Battlefield

10. Lightning II F-35A

Overview of the F-35 Lightning II Joined the Service: 2015 Producer: Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Price: *$77-901 million Key Features Design: All-weather, single-engine, single-seat multirole combat aircraft. Capabilities: Air Superiority: Designed for air-to-air combat. Strike Missions: Effective in ground attack roles. Electronic Warfare: Equipped for electronic warfare operations. Intelligence, Reconnaissance, and Surveillance: Provides advanced ISR capabilities.

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F-35 Lightning II Program Overview Cost Projection: Expected to reach $1.196 trillion by 2077. Key Partners: Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems collaborate with Lockheed Martin on the initiative. Aircraft Derivative: The F-35 is a derivative of the X-35. Funding and Collaboration Supporting Countries: NATO and close allies of the US, including: United Kingdom Australia Canada Denmark Netherlands Norway Italy Models of the F-35 Main Variants: F-35A: Conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variant. F-35B: Short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) variant. F-35C: Carrier-based variant designed for the US Navy.