"The F-35 program executive officer, has stated that the 'F-35 enjoys a significant Combat Loss Exchange Ratio advantage over the current and future air-to-air threats, to include Sukhois, which are currently being flown by the Russian, Indian, and Chinese Air Forces.'"
- Maj Gen Charles R. Davis, USAF, the F-35 program executive officer

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a fifth-generation, single-seat, single-engine, stealth-capable military strike fighter, a multirole aircraft that can perform close air support, tactical bombing, and air superiority fighter missions. The F-35 has three different models; one is the conventional takeoff and landing variant, the second is short takeoff and vertical-landing variant, and the third is a carrier-based variant.

The F-35 is descended from the X-35, the product of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. Its development is being principally funded by the United States, with the United Kingdom, and other partner governments providing additional funding. It is being designed and built by an aerospace industry team led by Lockheed Martin with Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems as major partners. Demonstrator aircraft flew in 2000, with the first flight on December 15th, 2006.

The F-35C combines this unique capability of operating from a carrier deck with the unmatched 5th Generation capabilities of stealth, fused sensors and reliability, making the F-35C the Navy?s future first-day-of-the-war strike fighter.

The Navy and Marines require an aircraft capable of overcoming a variety of threats - surface-to-air missiles, air-to-air missiles and tactical aircraft. By leveraging this potent combination of stealth, advanced jamming and threat system destruction, the F-35C enhances survivability and increases mission success rates.

The F-35C variant has larger wings and more robust landing gear than the other variants, making it suitable for catapult launches and fly-in arrestments aboard naval aircraft carriers. Its wingtips also fold to allow for more room on the carrier?s deck while deployed.

The F-35C also has the greatest internal fuel capacity of the three F-35 variants. The F-35C carries nearly 20,000 pounds of internal fuel for longer range and better persistence than any other fighter in a combat configuration. And, like the F-35B, the F-35C uses probe and drogue refueling. This allows the Navy to operate its carriers a safe distance from the threat while its fighters reach remote targets.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a US Navy Lockheed-Martin F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter that was assigned to the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center (NAWDC) located at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada, during July 2020. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 7-1/4-inches
Length: 8-1/2-inches

Release Date: November 2022

Historical Account: "NAWDC" - The Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center (NAWDC, pronounced NAW-DIK) was formerly known as the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center (NSAWC, pronounced "EN-SOCK") at Naval Air Station Fallon located in the city of Fallon in western Nevada. It is the center of excellence for naval aviation training and tactics development. NAWDC provides service to aircrews, squadrons and air wings throughout the United States Navy through flight training, academic instructional classes, and direct operational and intelligence support. The name was changed from NSAWC to NAWDC to align with the naming convention of the Navy's other Warfare Development Centers (including Naval Surface and Mine Warfare Development Center SMWDC and the Undersea Warfare Development Center UWDC.)