F-35A will provide pilots with unprecedented situational awareness of the battlespace, according to the Pentagon which will be more extensive than any single-seat platform in existence, the Pentagon said.
The US Air Force has declared the F-35 A Lightning II fifth-generation fighter jet as ready for combat, a major milestone for the futuristic aircraft dogged by delays and cost overruns.
The US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter congratulated the air force on the announcement yesterday and said this is a significant milestone for an aircraft that will allow the US to maintain the advantage of air superiority for years to come. "I know that even after being declared combat ready, there is more work to do with this critical program, but the Air Force, Air Combat Command and the men and women of Hill Air Force Base should be proud of this major step forward for the F-35A," Carter said.
The fighter jet is the latest addition to the US Air Force's fleet of deployable and fifth-generation aircraft. "The F-35A will be the most dominant aircraft in our inventory because it can go where our legacy aircraft cannot and provide the capabilities our commanders need on the modern battlefield," General Hawk Carlisle, commander of Air Combat Command said.
It provides air superiority, interdiction, suppression of enemy air defences and close air support as well as great command and control functions through fused sensors, and it will provide pilots with unprecedented situational awareness of the battlespace that will be more extensive than any single-seat platform in existence, the Pentagon said.
Carlisle said the aircraft has met all key criteria for reaching initial operational capability -- Airmen trained, manned and equipped to conduct basic close air support, interdiction and limited suppression/destruction of enemy air defences in a contested environment with an operational squadron of 12-24 aircraft.
It also has the ability to deploy and conduct operational missions using program of record weapons and missions systems and having all necessary logistics and operational elements in place, he added. Senator John McCain, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said the aircraft's achievement of initial operational capability is another important milestone in the Joint Strike Fighter program.
"But for the most expensive weapons system in history, the road ahead remains long," he said. The Senate Armed Services Committee will continue to exercise rigorous oversight of the Joint Strike Fighter program's long-delayed system development and demonstration phase as well as the start of the operational test and evaluation phase.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "An F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter takes off on a training sortie at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida in this March 6, 2012")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}