Lightning II | |
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Faction | ![]() |
Type | Stealth Multi-Role Fighter |
Seats | 1 seat:
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Item capacity | Max:
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Top speed | ~ 1,096 km/h |
Service ceiling | ~ 10,000 m |
Fuel capacity | 1000 fuel units |
Primary armament | Main:
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Secondary armament | Defensive:
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Variants | None |
Games |
The F-35 Lightning II is a carrier-based, multi-role fighter jet used exclusively by U.S. Marine aviation wings in ArmA 2.
Overview
- Role:
- Close air support
« | The F-35 Lightning is a single-seat single-engine stealth-capable military multirole strike fighter. It is capable of providing close air support, tactical bombing or air combat missions. The F-35B is the Short-TakeOff and Vertical Landing (STOVL) variant of F-35 prototype. It is armed with two guided bomb units, dual AIM-9 air-to-air guided missile platforms, and with a 25 mm cannon. Armoury Description
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Design
The F-35 is a single-engined stealth fighter that uses a conventional swept wing design and horizontal stabilisers with outwardly canted vertical tails.
Armament
By default, the F-35 is armed with a 25 mm cannon that is loaded with 220 rounds of high-explosive (HE) ammunition. The pylons within the internal weapons bay are fitted with two laser guided bombs, and two short-range air-to-air infrared guided missiles.
Features
As a stealthed aircraft, the F-35 uses an internal weapons bay as opposed to external wing-mounted hardpoints on conventional fixed-wing jets. This allows it to maintain a low profile when moving to attack ground and air targets, while also making it difficult to detect electronically.
Mobility
The F-35 is V/STOL-capable, and can take off and land on almost every flat surface without the need to operate from an airfield.

Taxiing for take off. Note the raised auxiliary fan doors, indicating that the F-35 is in VTOL mode.
Drawbacks
However, the F-35 is far less useful compared to the AV-8B or the Su-34 when it comes to providing close air support. It cannot efficiently attack ground targets on its own without ground forces laser marking targets for its LGBs, nor does it possess any air-to-ground anti-tank missiles.
To top it all off, because radar stealth is not actually simulated in ArmA 2, the internal weapons bay configuration and avionic advantages of it being a stealth aircraft are rendered completely useless. In addition, it only carries two short range AA missiles at a time, meaning that the F-35 cannot serve in an air superiority role as well.
Its sole saving grace is that unlike the Su-34 it has V/STOL capability, which it will automatically transition to-and-from while the aircraft remains at subsonic speeds. Although the AV-8B also possesses VTOL capability, it is much more difficult to manoeuvre in VTOL mode compared to the F-35. On the other hand, the F-35's VTOL mode is far less sluggish and allows its pilot to even control the jet like a helicopter.
In all other aspects however, the F-35 is vastly inferior to its conventional and Russian counterparts in virtually every way.
Crew Capacity
The F-35 has a maximum seating capacity of just one. It is unable to transport passengers or additional crew.
Protection
The F-35 has a base armour value of 40.
Hull
The F-35's hull can only withstand 40 points of damage. Depletion of the hull's integrity will instantly result in a total loss.
Armament
The F-35's pilot exclusively controls all of the onboard weapon systems. Aside from the GAU-22 cannon, all ordnance is launched via the F-35's internal weapons bay:
GAU-22

Base damage value | Aerodynamic friction | Initial velocity (m/s) |
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56 | -0.00062 | 1,040 |
25 mm Gatling cannon. Fires HE-based shells useful for Within Visual Range (WVR) dogfights.
It can attain a fire rate of up to ~ 3,300 rounds per minute and has a muzzle velocity of 1,040 m/s. The cannon itself has an effective firing range of between 400 and 1,500 metres. Accuracy-wise, the GAU-22 has a dispersion of 0.0024 rad at all ranges.
GBU-12

Base damage value | Maximum speed (m/s) |
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5,000 | N/A |
Laser-guided bomb. Can be optionally employed as an unguided gravity bomb instead.
There is a small delay of 0.2 seconds in-between bomb drops. The bombs themselves have a blast radius of 12 metres, and are capable of destroying any ground vehicle in a single hit.
AIM-9X Sidewinder

Damage type | Base damage value | Maximum speed (m/s) |
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High-Explosive | 200 | 828 |
Infrared-guided air-to-air missile. Has a maximum lock-on range of 9,000 metres.
There is a delay of 0.1 seconds in-between missile launches. 30 seconds will be required to reload a fresh batch of missiles at a logistical vehicle (assuming the F-35 has run out). It takes a total of 5 seconds for the missile's motor to reach a top speed of 828 m/s in mid-flight.
The seeker has a 20% chance to lose lock against flare countermeasures. Its warhead has a blast radius of 10 metres.
Avionics
MAWS
The F-35 has an integrated Missile Approach Warning System, and will warn the pilot of incoming missiles that are already in mid-flight and are inbound towards it.
RWR
The F-35 possesses a Radar Warning Receiver, and will alert the pilot of being locked-onto by radar-based targeting systems.
IWR
The F-35 lacks an Infrared Warning Receiver, and will not warn the pilot of being targeted by infrared-based weapon systems.
Trivia
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Gallery
External links
See also
Aircraft of comparable role and configuration
- AV-8B Harrier (Alternate USMC counterpart)
- Su-34 (Russian Armed Forces counterpart)
- F/A-181 Black Wasp II (NATO successor, ArmA 3: Jets only)
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Wheeled | HMMWV • LAV-25 • Motorcycle • Mountain bike • MTVR • Towing Tractor |
Tracked | AAVP-7A1 • M1 Abrams (M1A2 TUSK) • M270 MLRS |
Rotor-wing | AH-1Z • AH-64D • UH-1Y • MH-60S |
Fixed-wing | A-10 Thunderbolt II • AV-8B Harrier • C-130J Hercules • F-35 Lightning II • MQ-9 Reaper • MV-22 Osprey |
Aquatic | CRRC • RHIB |
(Parenthesis) denote variants. |