The F-35B Vertical Landing

        Designed for the Marine Corps, the F-35B variant would do what no other plane had ever done: accelerate past the speed of sound in flight, then make vertical landings on the smallest of landing footprints, much like a helicopter.

Video Credit: Out Of Your Mind

        The quest to create a fighter capable of taking off and landing in confined spaces has been a decades-long pursuit on both sides of the Atlantic. As early as 1954, Lockheed Martin was busy designing experimental “vertical rising” fighters, which soon paved the way for vertical-landing aircraft like the British Harrier. But unlike the Harrier, the F-35B and its Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) system offers both vertical landing and long-range supersonic speed in one unit, creating a stealthy, lightning-fast fighter capable of carrying advanced weaponry.

        Using energy generated by the F-35’s single engine, a swiveling jet pipe capable of rotating 95 degrees in 2.5 seconds redirects the engine thrust downward, while additional lift fans beneath the cockpit and wings combine to produce 40,000 pounds of vertical thrust.