Ultimate Fighter tells how a series of little-known technology programs coalesced into a 3,000-airplane plan-the F-35 joint strike fighter (JSF). As one of the first major aircraft programs to start from scratch in the era of information technology, the JSF virtually flies itself, while the pilot manages the mission with the help of very acute high-resolution sensors and displays. The F-35 is one of the biggest single military projects in history-but it was born as a compromise between the needs of three U.S. services in the budget-strapped post-Cold War era. Author Bill Sweetman chronicles the high stakes competition between two aviation giants, Lockheed Martin and Boeing, to build the Joint Strike Fighter-the next generation fighter jet.
Ultimate Fighter: Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
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Book Description
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About the Author
Bill Sweetman was the chief aerospace consultant on the Nova (PBS) production of "Battle of the X-Planes." He is an experienced aviation journalist, having written more that 30 books in the field. He was awarded the Aviation/Space Writers Association Award of Excellence in 1990 and 1992. Sweetman also served as consulting editor on Jane's International Defense Review. Sweetman lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
By John Matlock
Format:Hardcover
We know how to build a stealth fighter. We know how to build a long-range agile fighter. We may even have a good way of building a fighter that can land and take off vertically. But trying to build a fighter that can do all three is very, very difficult."
But that's exactly what Lockheed Martin is building in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Perhaps trying to build is a better term. It looked like possible in 2001 when the contract was let. By 2004 the plane had gained weight and the lift wasn't quite there to take off vertically.
This is a great book. It is mostly on the details of the competitive designs being proposed by Lockheed Martin and Boeing. For five years these two companies worked on the design of the fighters they were proposing, even to building flying prototypes. Reading the book gets you deep into the design effort, the philosophies of the two companies, and the politics involved. You know more about the F-35 than you imagined possible.
But that's exactly what Lockheed Martin is building in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Perhaps trying to build is a better term. It looked like possible in 2001 when the contract was let. By 2004 the plane had gained weight and the lift wasn't quite there to take off vertically.
This is a great book. It is mostly on the details of the competitive designs being proposed by Lockheed Martin and Boeing. For five years these two companies worked on the design of the fighters they were proposing, even to building flying prototypes. Reading the book gets you deep into the design effort, the philosophies of the two companies, and the politics involved. You know more about the F-35 than you imagined possible.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is more of a coffee table book. There is very little excitement when reading through the book. The book is even less exciting than the BBC documentary of the same account of Boeing and Lockheed competing for the winning design. Most of all, you don't sense the human factor, the human drama in this book. Contrast this book with the Skunk Work book by Ben Rich and you can see the difference. Again, this is just a coffee table book that you look flip once in a while and not a book like Mr. Rich's that you go back to for inspirational ideas.
By Pete
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Usual excellent detail from Bill Sweetman. Having been involved in the fly off from the Navy perspective I was last little disappointed that there was not more detail of the work done at Pax River. It would be really interesting if someone would do a history of this program from the perspective of the government folks watching the fly off of both aircraft. The stories that could be told...
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