The F-35 Could Be a “Fifth-Gen-Plus” Aircraft One Day |
The F-35 Could Be a “Fifth-Gen-Plus” Aircraft One Day
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Lockheed Martin has floated multiple proposals to upgrade the F-35 fighter as sixth-generation alternatives emerge—but for the time being, it has its hands full manufacturing the existing ones!
As part of President Donald Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget for Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27)—marking the first trillion-dollar budget in the Pentagon’s history—the Department of Defense has requested 85 fifth-generation Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighters. A total of 32 of the stealth fighters would be funded via the base budget, with an additional 53 to be acquired via a proposed $350 billion in the reconciliation bill. For comparison’s sake, the FY26 budget requested only 47 of the aircraft, making the proposed FY27 acquisition slightly under twice as large.
Eighty-five new F-35s in a single year is an astonishing number—even within a budget filled with generous contracts for the defense industry, including a proposed “Golden Fleet” for the United States Navy and the “Golden Dome” missile system meant to blanket the entire country. Even so, some experts have warned that the Air Force could need even more of the aircraft next year, given the airframe’s growing age and the fact that at least five of the planes have been lost or significantly damaged in the ongoing Operation Epic Fury against Iran.
Regardless of the final number of F-35s secured in the upcoming budget, the increased interest is certain to be a significant boost for Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest defense contractor—particularly as it weighs how to keep the fifth-generation stealth fighter at the cutting edge of US capabilities in the years ahead, as the United States and its adversaries begin to adopt advanced sixth-generation platforms as well.
The F-35 Lightning II’s Specifications
Year Introduced: 2015 (F-35B)
Number Built: ~1,300 (all variants)
Length: 51.4 ft (15.67 m)
Wingspan: 35 ft (10.67 m)
Weight (MTOW): 70,000 lbs (31,750 kg)
Engines: One Pratt & Whitney F135-PW-100 afterburning turbofan (40,000 lbf thrust)
Top Speed: ~1,200 mph (1,930 km/h) / Mach 1.6
Range: 1,350+ mi (2,170 km) with internal fuel
Service Ceiling: 50,000+ ft (15,240 m)
Loadout: Internal 25 mm GAU-22/A cannon, two AIM-120 AMRAAMs, and two GBU-31 JDAMs (in a flexible air and ground operations loadout setting)
Lockheed Martin Lost Both Sixth-Gen Fighter Contests Last Year
The boost in investment for the F-35 comes at a welcome time for Lockheed Martin, given its high-profile failure to secure a contract for either of the Pentagon’s sixth-generation fighter programs in 2025.
Just over a year ago, the US Air Force announced that aerospace giant Boeing had won the design competition for the F-47 program, beating out Lockheed Martin’s entry. This sixth-generation manned fighter will be the centerpiece of the Next Generation Air Domination (NGAD) program, which has been described as a system-of-systems approach that will include unmanned aircraft supporting the manned fighter and enhanced network connectivity.
Only days after the loss of the F-47 contract, the Navy indicated that Lockheed Martin was also out of the running for its F/A-XX program, which calls for the development of a manned sixth-generation carrier-based multirole fighter separate from the F-47. Boeing and Northrop Grumman are now competing for that contract; a winner has not yet been selected.
What Comes After the F-35? A Better F-35, Probably
Last year, Lockheed Martin responded to losing the F-47 contract by proposing a more advanced variant of the F-35. The new aircraft, dubbed the “F-55,” seemed to win favor at the time with President Donald Trump, who called on Lockheed Martin to design a twin-engine version. However, aviation experts have dismissed the notion that such an aircraft could be built.
A more modest goal also proposed by Lockheed Martin would be a so-called “Ferrari” version of the F-35, which could be outfitted with sixth-generation technology developed by Lockheed Martin for its NGAD prototype. That could include passive infrared, improved stealth, and long-range weapons. The resulting fighter jet would probably be analogous to the F-15EX Eagle II fighter jet, which combines the fuselage of a fourth-generation F-15 Eagle with cutting-edge electronics, creating a “fourth-gen-plus” or “4.5-gen” aircraft.
It is unclear, however, at what stage the “Ferrari” F-35 is at present, or whether it will even move beyond the prototype stage. Much of the proposed technology to add to the next F-35 is still in development.
In the meantime, Lockheed Martin has quite the task ahead—absorbing the massive new investment in the existing F-35 program, and seeing its production lines roll out more of the fifth-gen jets for the US military and foreign buyers.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed to dozens of newspapers, magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.