Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

Updated: October 2026 – A deep, rolling rumble, an angular gray jet without a single pod under the wings, just one nozzle at the tail and two canted vertical stabilizers above it: that is the F-35 Lightning II. Lockheed Martin’s stealth jet has become the standard combat aircraft of many NATO countries, and with the procurement for Büchel Air Base it is coming to the Luftwaffe as well. Here you learn how to tell the three variants A, B and C apart, who flies the F-35 in Europe and where you are most likely to get it in front of your lens.

What is the F-35 Lightning II?

The F-35 is a single-engine multirole combat aircraft of the so-called fifth generation. What that mainly means is the combination of stealth characteristics, that is, a shape that is hard for radar to detect, and a very extensive sensor suite whose data the aircraft fuses into a single situational picture. It was developed in the American Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program, which aimed to produce a common type for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. Lockheed Martin won with its X-35 design against Boeing; Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems are major partners in the program.

The first F-35A prototype (AA-1) took off on December 15, 2006, in Fort Worth. The F-35B followed in June 2008 and the F-35C in June 2010. The US Marine Corps was first to declare its F-35Bs operational in July 2015, the US Air Force followed in 2016 with the F-35A and the US Navy in 2019 with the F-35C. According to Lockheed Martin, the worldwide fleet has now accumulated more than a million flight hours.

The F-35 carries the name “Lightning II” in memory of two predecessors: the P-38 Lightning from World War II and the British English Electric Lightning. In everyday use most spotters simply say “F-35”; in Israel, the country’s own version is called the F-35I “Adir.”

Propulsion: the Pratt & Whitney F135

At the tail sits a single F135 from Pratt & Whitney, one of the most powerful fighter engines of all. Without afterburner it delivers about 125 kilonewtons, with afterburner about 190 kilonewtons. The official top speed is Mach 1.6 – less than the Eurofighter or F-22, but the F-35 can reach this speed with a full internal weapons load.

The F-35B adds a supplementary system contributed by Rolls-Royce: a shaft drives a large lift fan directly behind the cockpit, the main nozzle can be swiveled downward, and small roll posts under the wings keep the aircraft stable in hover. For spotters it is one of the most spectacular displays of all when the F-35B stops over the runway at an airshow and takes a bow.

The three variants compared

At first glance the F-35A, B and C look almost identical. With some practice you can still tell them apart by a few details.

Variant	Use	Wingspan	How to recognize it
F-35A	Conventional runways, most air forces	10.7 m	Built-in cannon with a small bulge above the left wing root, refueling receptacle for the boom on the back
F-35B	Short takeoff and vertical landing, small carriers and improvised runways	10.7 m	Large door behind the cockpit for the lift fan, auxiliary inlets on the back, swiveling main nozzle
F-35C	Aircraft carriers with catapult and arresting wire	13.1 m	Noticeably larger wings with folding joints, larger tail surfaces, stout nose gear

At about 13.3 tonnes of empty weight, the F-35A is the lightest version and the variant you see most often in Europe. The F-35B is flown in Europe by the British armed forces and Italy; the F-35C is purely a US Navy and US Marine Corps matter and can only be seen in Europe on carrier visits or exercises.

The three features that are enough to identify it

The markings ultimately confirm the type and often the user as well. US Air Force jets carry serial numbers following the USAF scheme; how that works is explained in the post US military serials. European F-35s use the respective national systems; a database such as Scramble is good for looking them up.

The F-35 in the Luftwaffe: procurement for Büchel

For spotters in Germany, the F-35 is a big topic above all because it replaces the Tornado. At the end of 2022 the Bundestag released the funds for 35 F-35As, with a volume of about ten billion euros. The purchase is not made directly from Lockheed Martin but through a government-to-government deal with the US.

The main reason for the choice is NATO nuclear sharing. Büchel Air Base in the Eifel region (Cochem-Zell district, Rhineland-Palatinate) is home to Tactical Air Wing 33 (Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 33). Its Tornados have so far been the German delivery aircraft for US nuclear weapons as part of NATO deterrence. This task passes to the F-35A, which is why the Luftwaffe plans to station all 35 German aircraft at Büchel.

Büchel has been undergoing extensive reconstruction for the new jet for several years: the runway is being fundamentally renovated, and new hangars, maintenance and security areas are being added. During the runway work, the Büchel Tornados temporarily relocated to Nörvenich from 2022. Individual construction measures are expected to continue until at least 2028.

Milestone	As of October 2026
Procurement decision	December 2022, 35 F-35As
Handover of the first aircraft	September 18, 2026 at the Lockheed Martin plant
Training	Initially in the US, at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Arkansas
Stationing	Tactical Air Wing 33, Büchel Air Base
End of deliveries	According to plan by the end of the decade

So the first German jets will stay in America for the time being, where German pilots and technicians are trained together with other European users. Exactly when the first F-35As land permanently at Büchel depends on construction progress; realistically expect the years after 2026. An increase beyond the 35 aircraft has been discussed politically, but no binding order was known as of October 2026.

Who flies the F-35 in Europe?

The F-35 has become the most-ordered fighter jet in Europe in recent years. The following overview gives the status as of October 2026 – order numbers change often here.

Country	Version	Status (as of October 2026)
Great Britain	F-35B, plus 12 F-35As announced	In service with the RAF and Royal Navy, home base RAF Marham
Italy	F-35A and F-35B	In service, F-35A at Amendola among others, final assembly in Cameri
Netherlands	F-35A	In service at Leeuwarden and Volkel, F-16 retired
Norway	F-35A	52 aircraft delivered, Ørland and Evenes
Denmark	F-35A	In service, home base Skrydstrup
Belgium	F-35A	Deliveries ongoing, first base Florennes
Poland	F-35A	32 ordered, training in the US, Łask as first home base
Finland	F-35A	64 ordered, first jets since fall 2026 in Rovaniemi
Switzerland	F-35A	Ordered, Payerne as first planned base
Germany	F-35A	35 ordered, first handover September 2026
Czech Republic, Romania, Greece	F-35A	Ordered, deliveries in the coming years

In addition there is the US Air Force with its F-35As of the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath in England – for many Europeans the easiest route to regular F-35 sightings – as well as guest appearances by US Navy and Marine Corps squadrons at exercises.

A special case on the side: the Italian final assembly line in Cameri near Novara, operated by Leonardo, builds not only the Italian jets but also aircraft for the Netherlands and wing sets for F-35s assembled in the US. If you are nearby, you occasionally see new F-35s on factory test flights.

F-35, F-22, Eurofighter or F-16?

In the skies over Europe you meet several fighter jets that can be confused from a distance. The finder helps you narrow it down.

The Gripen and Rafale are also quickly ruled out: both have canards and a delta wing. If you want to learn systematically, the guide Recognizing fighter jets in Europe puts all the important types side by side.

Spotting tips for the F-35

Because the F-35 flies in so many countries, you have more chances in Europe than with almost any other modern fighter jet. The downside: military flight operations are not published, exercises and holiday periods change everything, and the F-35 usually transmits no open signal in everyday operations. On transatlantic ferry flights, jets sometimes appear in tracking services together with tankers such as the A330 MRTT.

Airshows and exercises

You see the F-35 most easily at airshows. Many user countries show it on static display or with their own demonstration, and at big British shows the F-35B hover is a crowd magnet. You can find an overview of worthwhile events under Airshows in Europe and photo tips in the post Photographing airshows. At the NATO Tiger Meet, F-35s from several countries are now regular participants, occasionally even with special liveries. In Germany, take a look at the ILA in Berlin and the Bundeswehr Open Day.

Photo tips

How exactly that works is explained in the guide Planning the sun position for your photo spot; which camera and lens you need is in the Plane spotting gear checklist.

Common mix-ups and how to rule them out

Conclusion

The F-35 Lightning II is the fighter jet that hardly any spotter in Europe can avoid anymore: from Norway to Italy and from England to Poland it is in service, and with Büchel the Luftwaffe also gets its first stealth jet. Identification is simpler than the futuristic shape suggests – the real art lies in telling the variants apart and catching the right moment at the fence.