Here’s What You Need to Remember:
Once in the air, these restrictions might make the F-35B seem like a watered-down version of the F-35A. While this may be true, it’s also crucial to consider the plane’s functions. Compared to the AV-8B and the F-16C, the F-35B is much closer to the F-35A in terms of capabilities.
In the media, the F-35 has frequently been referred to as a single aircraft, or its numerous variants have been confused with one another.
But the standard F-35A and the VSTOL F-35B are very different, even though they are both parts of the same “program.” They even have different fuselages, on top of the extra complexity that the B version adds.
The B is less agile than the A, which is the main difference between the two jets. There are many reasons for this, and most of them have to do with the fact that the B needs to be able to take off and land vertically.
Because the lift fan is built into the B version, it is a lot “fatter” and bigger than the F-35A.
the F-35A fuselage on top of the orange F-35B. Because the B has a bigger front profile, it has more drag. This reduces the plane’s acceleration and makes maneuvering more challenging. From a halt to a speed of Mach 1.2 in the F-35B takes around 18 seconds longer than it does in the F-35A.
The higher profile and altered weight reduce the possible turn rate of the F-35B, but in practice, the aircraft can only draw a maximum of 7Gs to protect its internal components.
The B has less internal fuel than the A. However, this is to be expected given that it has additional fuselage-occupying components than the A.
This reduces its effective combat range compared to the A, but it is still superior to all previous VSTOL aircraft. The F-35A and F-35B have a few minor but significant variations in their armament.
Due to the changing design of the fuselage, the absence of the cannon at the wing root on the F-35B is the most noticeable difference. Instead, the F-35B can place a stealthy gun pod under the fuselage’s centerline.
As it is positioned dead center in relation to the head-up display and cockpit, this pod has the potential to be more accurate than the F-35A’s internal gun and can hold an extra forty rounds.
The F-35B can carry different weapons inside than the F-35A can. Again, the diverse needs and shapes of the fuselage mean that the internal weapon bays of the F-35B are smaller than those of the F-35A.
The biggest implication is that the F-35B can’t stealthily carry the huge 2,000-pound bombs. Instead, they have to be hung from the external weapon pylons in order to be used.
Most of the US’s “bunker-buster” bombs weigh that much, so the F-35B wouldn’t be able to do a stealth mission against a deep, hardened target while the F-35A would.
The two and ten pylons on the wings can also hold less weight, so the F-35B can’t carry as many weapons as the F-35A overall.
But the F-35B probably wouldn’t want to operate at its max load in the first place since it can’t land vertically at that weight.
If the F-35B took off with its maximum takeoff weight, it would either have to use up its supplies in battle or throw them away before landing. These problems might make it seem like, once in the air. The F-35B is mostly just a bad version of the F-35A.
Even though this is true, it’s important to think about what the planes are used for. The F-35B is much more like the F-35A in terms of what it can do than the AV-8B was like the F-16C.
The AV-8B couldn’t even go supersonic. It had a lot fewer hard points than the F-16C, and its radar wasn’t as good.
The F-35B, on the other hand, is pretty much the same plane as the F-35A, except that it can’t turn as well and doesn’t have as many weapons. It has the same high-quality sensor systems, radar, and datalinks as the A.
