With a high-stakes fly-off slated for the year 2000, rivals Lockheed Martin and Boeing have each employed teams to develop the prototype that will secure the Pentagon's Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) contract. This all-color book provides rare behind-the-scenes coverage of the competitors' designs and their performance features, and explains why the JSF contract winner will most likely go on to produce the bulk of the U.S. fighter fleet in the 21st century. Exclusive photography reveals production lines, test designs in flight, power plants, weaponry, cockpits, and markings.
Intended for use by the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, UK Royal Navy, and other allies, the JSF will be a single-engine fighter incorporating supersonic and stealth capabilities with advanced weapons systems and versatility--the navy JSF will be carrier-based, the USMC version will take off and land vertically, and the Air Force fighter will boast long-range capabilities. As in his previous books, author Bill Sweetman uses his superior knowledge of modern aircraft technology to infer the most likely details of still classified information.
An internationally recognized expert on modern military aircraft, Bill Sweetman has also written the previous MBI titles Aurora: The Pentagon's Hypersonic Spyplane, F-22 Raptor, and Inside the Stealth Bomber, among others.
