Written by Todd DePastino

Highlights of the first day of the 2024 Imperial War Museum’s Duxford Air Show included a jaw-dropping and eardrum-rattling display of a Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II hovering nose up sideways. The fighter came from the Royal Air Force 207 Squadron located nearby at RAF Marham. This was a “full role demonstration,” the first of its kind at Duxford.

The F-35 Lightning II is a fifth-generation stealth multirole fighter born of the US Department of Defense’s Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program of the post-Cold War 1990s. The goal was to produce a Swiss-Army-Knife-Type fighter that could perform a range of missions, including air-to-air combat, ground attack, and reconnaissance, while being affordable to operate and maintain.

The F-35 program ended up producing three variants, each tailored to specific service requirements:

The US Air Force got the F-35A, a conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variant designed to replace the F-16 Fighting Falcon and A-10 Thunderbolt II. It has internal weapons bays for a stealthier profile and can operate from traditional runways.

The US Marine Corps received the F-35B variant for short takeoffs and vertical landings (STOVL). The F-35B can take off from short runways or amphibious assault ships and land vertically, much like a helicopter. It achieves this through a unique lift fan system located behind the cockpit, which works in conjunction with a swiveling rear exhaust nozzle. The F-35B’s ability to operate in environments without full-length runways makes it ideal for the Marines, who often operate from austere locations near conflict zones.

The US Navy got the F-35C, which features a larger wing and more robust landing gear to handle the stresses of catapult launches and arrested landings on aircraft carriers. It has a greater fuel capacity and longer range than the other variants.