F-35: The Inside Story of the Lightning II

The F-35 is the most expensive and controversial military program in history, costing more than the Manhattan Project and the B-2 Stealth Bomber. It has been subject to the most aggressive cyberattacks from China, Russia, North Korea, and others. This book provides an inside look at the most advanced aircraft in the world and the historic project that built it, based on the author's personal experience and over 100+ interviews.

Format: Hardback
Length: 416 pages
Publication date: 28 September 2023
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing

The F-35 has revolutionized allied combat warfare, but its completion will cost more than the Manhattan Project and the B-2 Stealth Bomber. It has faced the most aggressive cyberattacks in history from China, Russia, North Korea, and others. Its stealth technology required nearly 9 million lines of code, while NASA's Curiosity Mars rover required 2.5 million. The project was on the brink of failure.

F-35 is the only inside look at the most advanced aircraft in the world and the historic project that built it, as told by those who were intimately involved in its design, testing, and production. Based on the author's personal experience and over 100+ interviews, F-35 pulls back the curtain on one of the most heavily criticized government programs in history, from start to finish.

The dramatic flights that won Lockheed Martin the contract over Boeing; the debates and decisions over capabilities; the feats of software, hardware, and aeronautical engineering that made it possible; how the project survived the Nunn-McCurdy breach; the conflicts among all three branches of the U.S. military, between the eight other allied nation partners, and against spy elements from enemies.

For readers of Skunk Works by Ben Rich and The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes, F-35 will pique the interest of airplane enthusiasts, defense industry insiders, military history aficionados, political junkies, and general nonfiction readers.

Weight: 658g
Dimension: 160 x 237 x 37 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781510777576