Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning

[Il_Signor_Regio]

[Would you like to see this in-game?]

• Yes
• No

Description: The F35 is a stealth fifth-generation Fighter-bomber. Its story with Italy began in 2002, when Italy joined the American JSF (Joint Strike Fighter) program. At that time, Italy was looking for the aircraft that would replace the Panavia Tornado after 2020, and the F35 was the answer. The Italian air force In 2009, the Italian parliament approved the project to build a total of 131 F35s in the facility of the Air Base of Cameri. The first prototype, the AL-1, rolled out of the hangar in 2015, and it flew for the first time in 2016. It performed the first transatlantic flight (from Italy to the USA) in history. Italy is the first country after the USA to operate the F35, and it’s one of the few with a home production of this aircraft. In 2019, the party in charge of the government at that time reduced, for not very intelligent political reasons, the number of F35 from 131 to 90. The number of F35As delivered for now is 23, and they are increasing every one or two months. From their entry into service, they took part in all sorts of international and NATO missions with other countries. The Italian F35A are also deployed in Iceland to protect NATO airspace, and they will be deployed in Japan this week. All the Italian F35 were upgraded to the latest standard (Block 3F), and they will be upgraded in the future to Block 4 and all the other upgrades that will come in the far future. The Italian Navy and air force are currently cooperating for restore the initial order of 131 units (104 of these will go to the air force) but this project will probably require a lot of time as the curret budget is not that big.

Why it should be in the game: It will be with the Eurofighter the top of the Italian fighter aircraft. It will be very powerfoul and it will be crucial for the Italian TT in the future.

Specifications:

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Wingspan: 10.6 m
Length: 15.4 m
Height: 4.6 m
Wing area: 42.7 m2
Maximum speed: 1.6 mach
Operating ceiling: 15,240 m
Range: over 1100 km
Propulsion plant: 1 Pratt & Whitney F135 turbofan of 191kN (with afterburner)
Internal fuel weight: over 8000 kg
Crew: 1

Armament:

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Cannons:
1x 25 mm GAU-12 cannon
Bombs
6x GBU-12
6x EGBU-12
6x GBU-32 JDAM
6x GBU-31 JDAM
8x GBU-39/B
8x GBU-39 A/B
8x GBU39 B/B
8x GBU53
Air To Air Missiles:
4x Aim-120 C-5
4x Aim-120 C-8
4x Aim-120 D
4x MBDA Meteor
2x Aim-9X Block II
Air to Ground missiles:
6x AARGM-ER

Sources:

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RID - Rivista Italiana Difesa - shownews - Il punto sulle operazioni italiane di Lockheed Martin)%20risultano%20attualmente%20consegnati.
AGM-88 HARM - Wikipedia
Fuori dall'hangar il primo F-35 italiano
https://defence-blog.com/raytheon-secures-344m-deal-for-stormbreaker-smart-bombs/?amp
Check Out These New Photos Of The Italian F-35A and B Flying Together In "Beast Mode" For The First Time - The Aviationist
Over There
https://www.difesa.it/OperazioniMilitari/op_intern_corso/Islanda_Air_Policing_Northern_Lightning/GalleriaFoto/Pagine/F35.aspx
Tutti gli affari che farà Lockheed Martin in Italia - Startmag
Funding secured to complete missile integration on UK and Italian F-35 fleets
Italy, UK to complete Meteor, Spear missile integration on F-35 fleets | News | Flight Global
Italy And UK Are Integrating New European Weapons On The F-35 Lightning II - The Aviationist
https://defencenews.quora.com/BAE-Systems-MBDA-to-arm-UK-Italian-F-35-Jets-with-SPEAR-Meteor-Missiles
https://aresdifesa.it/missili-amraam-per-diciotto-paesi-tra-cui-litalia/
AvioBlog - Gli F-35A e B italo-britannici potranno utilizzare presto missili METEOR, ASRAAM e SPEAR3
BAE Systems and MBDA to Fit UK and Italian F-35 Fleets With New Missile Systems - Overt Defense
L’Aeronautica vuole riportare gli F-35 a “quota 131” – Analisi Difesa
The Italian Air Force Wants The Next-Gen Fighter And The Original F-35 Quota To Be Restored - The Aviationist
https://www.defensehere.com/en/New-missile-types-for-British-Italian-F-35s
Italian F-35s Will Get AIM-9X Block II Air-To-Air Missiles - The Aviationist
https://www.aeronautica.difesa.it/home/noi-siamo-l-am/personale-e-mezzi/

Pictures:

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[Amatsu37]

war thunder is definitely not ready for 5th gen aircraft yet, we don’t even have the F-15 and even that is controversial

[AlvisWisla]

Yes. I want to shoot so many players that go above mach 1 with external pylons.

[Il_Signor_Regio]

Bruh the aircraft is not intended to be in game now. it willl appear eventually in future

[dejece_001]

Finally,my moment to leak secret information has come.XD

[Morvran]

I’d like it, but I think modeling any stealth aircraft is going to cause so many problems that its a recipe for disaster.

[AlvisWisla]

Nah. They already have RCS in the game.
Just have to add it to pylons, missiles, & speed if it’s not already.

[Morvran]

Yeah, but radar barely works currently. So many times I’ve had issues with radar not keep lock, or the BVR missile going haywire, and there is the whole, low alt issues with BVR missiles. I think its a can of worms that the game is no where near ready for. Not too mention the entire “how do you balance 4th gen vs 5th gen without it being completely broken”

[AlvisWisla]

Those “low alt issues” are features, accurate simulation of how missiles behave at low altitude.
Especially before the 21st century filtering.
Radar missile code will keep getting improved regardless.

[Morvran]

Its called “multi-pathing” I dont really understand it. but its not modeled right in game. Some BVRs should work fine at low alt, again, I dont really understand but from others have dicussed in things like the Tornado thread. Some missiles like the Skyflash have a “mono-pulse seeker” that shouldnt be affected at low alt, but currently it performs just as badly as most other BVRs do at low alt.

https://community.gaijin.net/issues/p/warthunder/i/iTy85rvJzQC5

https://community.gaijin.net/issues/p/warthunder/i/lCzxO80wkMuE

https://community.gaijin.net/issues/p/warthunder/i/tkBEwJJFViYj

heck even minor things like Community Bug Reporting System

There are a number of issues with BVRs currently. That just result in un-predictable behaviour that shouldnt happen, It’s all under investiagation I believe. but TLDR. I think the game is a good few years away from even being close. Im curious to see how they’ll model Fox 3s.

But Either way, we wont see 5th gen for at least 3+ years I reckon.

(and this isnt even covering the whole RWR issues and lack of ECM that often result in people just sitting at 50ft all the time, because climbing to 20k ft where these missiles should be used is just deadly)

[Fireraid233]

Do people not understand that suggestions like this are meant for the future and for fun? +1

[Chilean_Thunder]

+1, obviously over time these types of advanced fighters will be added to the game

[JamesPond1200]

Obviously not now, but at some point sure. +1

[Catnip007]

+1 Add immediately

/S

[MentaIAnguish]

War thunder isn’t ready for these types of vehicles yet, although I’d love to see it implemented and own one, I’d rather it be implemented in the future when vehicles have advanced a bit and not make huge jumps in tech.

[Il_Signor_Regio]

yes, of course we will only see veichles such as this one eventually in a far future

[Yontzee]

Can’t wait to have the AIM-9X and shoot targets behind me lol. +1

By the way, I see a lot of people downvoting this. This isn’t for having it added right now, it’s for the far future when we’re at this level lol.

[Giovanex05]

I voted yes but it’s for the faaaaaaaar future. Modelling stealth aside, the aircraft (just like the Eurofighter) has too much stuff that is secret, and while not a simulator war thunder still has many realistic features

[AlvisWisla]

So far IDK if the F-35 can have Aim-9s in the weapons bay.
Be neat if it can.

[Il_Signor_Regio]

As far as I rember for now the F35 can carry the 9X only on the dedicated external pilons. But probably in future it will be able to carry them in the bay as well