US Air Force / Airman First Class Zachary Rufus
2 May 2021, 7:48 UTC ·
by Daniel Patrascu author
Often seen as one of the most expensive military aircraft ever made, the Lockheed Martin F-35 presently flies in the service of some 15 national air forces. And in the case of such an expensive machine spread over such a large area, maintaining proper service operations could prove a nightmare.
Lockheed Martin
In Europe, five nations have already deployed some 126 F-35s (that number is expected to grow to 450 over the next decade), and up until now servicing the airplanes’ parts that are most prone to wear and tear, namely the wheels and brakes, proved to be a nightmare at times.
That will no longer be the case, as a “dedicated repair, overhaul and maintenance facility” will be created by GKN Aerospace in the Netherlands. GKN will work with Honeywell, who will help with supplying the parts needed for repairs - that’s because Honeywell is responsible for some 100 of the bits of hardware that go into such a fighter jet.
In service since 2006, the F-35 is described by its maker as the most advanced fighter jet in the world. That moniker is somewhat inaccurate, as the machine is capable of doing much more than just dogfights in enemy airspace.
There are presently three types of F-35s, the A, B, and C. F-35A is designed to take off and land on conventional runways, and is deployed by the United States Air Force and most of the allied nations.
The F-35B is the one that can also land and take off vertically, and thus it is deployed by the United States Marine Corps. Some of them are also in the service of the Royal and Italian air forces. Last but not least comes the stealthy F-35C in the service of the U.S. Navy.
Depending on configuration, the airplane has a range between 1,035 and 1,367 miles (1,667 and 2,200 km).
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