Yup, I was at the unveiling and inauguration today (via live feed). She's an attractive aircraft. Lightning II isn't that bad of a name, but the crowd was a bit taken aback by it at first. Alex Nieves On 7/7/06, Roger LaFrance <lafrance@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > New U.S. F-35 fighter dubbed "Lightning II" > Fri Jul 7, 2006 12:45pm ET > > Email This Article | Print This Article | Reprints > [-] Text [+] By Andrea Shalal-Esa > WASHINGTON, July 7 (Reuters) - The stealthy F-35 Joint Strike Fighter > being developed by the United States and eight other countries is to be > named the "Lightning II," in homage to two earlier fighters. > The supersonic F-35 is being built by a team led by Lockheed Martin Corp. > (LMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) at a cost of $276 billion. It is the > costliest U.S. weapons program ever. > "The F-35 Lightning II will be the centerpiece of airpower in the 21st > century for America and our allies," Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England > said in a statement on Friday. > Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed is the prime contractor developing three > variants of the single-engine plane. > U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley announced the name at > Lockheed's Fort Worth, Texas plant, saying it represented the fruit of over > a hundred years of flight and aerial combat. > The F-35's name echoes that of the sleek World War Two-era Lockheed P-38 > Lightning, which scored the most aerial victories of any U.S. fighter in > the Pacific. Designed as a high-altitude interceptor, the twin-propellor > P-38 was also used for dive bombing, level bombing, ground strafing and > photo reconnaissance. > English Electric, which later become BAE Systems (BA.L: Quote, Profile, > Research), built a supersonic twin-engined jet in the mid-1950s that was > also called Lightning. It could reach speeds of 1,500 miles per hour and > remained in service until 1988. > "The F-35 Lightning II will carry on the legacy of two of the greatest and > most capable fighter aircraft of all time," said Ralph Heath, president of > Lockheed's aeronautics unit. Continued... > > Roger & Amanda La France > -- ______________________________ Alex Nieves