F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter

Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is billed as a catalyst for the fifth-generation revolution, changing the face and capability of the Royal Australian Air Force and the wider Australian Defence Force.

For the RAAF, the F-35A’s combination of full-spectrum, low-observable stealth coatings and materials; advanced radar-dispersing shaping, network-centric sensor; and communications suites – combined with a lethal strike capability – means the aircraft will be the ultimate force multiplying air-combat platform.

Australia has committed to purchasing 72 of the advanced fifth-generation fighter aircraft as part of the AU$17 billion AIR 6000 Phase 2A/B program to replace the ageing F/A-18A/B Classic Hornets that have been in service with the RAAF since 1985.