As of 24 August 2018, the Royal Air Force (RAF) had 15 Lightning II F-35B aircraft in the following locations.

Production No.	Tail No.	Location	Squadron
BK-01	ZM135	Edwards Air Force Base, USA	17 Squadron
BK-02	ZM136	Edwards Air Force Base, USA	17 Squadron
BK-03	ZM137	Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Beaufort, USA	Not yet assigned
BK-04	ZM138	Edwards Air Force Base, USA	17 Squadron
BK-05	ZM139	MCAS Beaufort, USA	Not yet assigned
BK-06	ZM140	RAF Marham	617 Squadron
BK-07	ZM141	RAF Marham	617 Squadron
BK-08	ZM142	RAF Marham	617 Squadron
BK-09	ZM143	RAF Marham	617 Squadron
BK-10	ZM144	RAF Marham	617 Squadron
BK-11	ZM145	RAF Marham	617 Squadron
BK-12	ZM146	RAF Marham	617 Squadron
BK-13	ZM147	RAF Marham	617 Squadron
BK-14	ZM148	RAF Marham	617 Squadron
BK-150	ZM149	Naval Air Station Patuxent River, USA	Not yet assigned

It is important to note that non-assigned aircraft will have since been assigned to squadrons and other aircraft may have moved to other bases/squadrons.

Aircraft Data

• Top speed: 1,976 km/h
• Range: 1,667 km
• Weight: 14,700 kg
• Length: 15 m
• Wingspan: 11 m
• Engine type: Pratt & Whitney F135
• Manufacturer: Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.

More detailed information on the aircraft’s characteristics can be found at the Lockheed Martin reference below.

The F-35 Lightning II is a 5th Generation fighter, combining advanced stealth with fighter speed and agility, fully fused sensor information, network-enabled operations and advanced sustainment.

Three variants of the F-35 will replace the A-10 and F-16 for the U.S. Air Force, the F/A-18 for the U.S. Navy, the F/A-18 and AV-8B Harrier for the U.S. Marine Corps, and a variety of fighters for at least ten other countries.

The Royal Air Force and Royal Navy plan to operate 138 F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft. Their training is taking place at MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina, where British pilots and maintainers will be embedded with the U.S. Marine Corps and their fleet of F-35Bs.

Aircraft Cost

Production costs have varied, for a variety of reasons, but here are Lockheed Martin’s aircraft costs as of 20 December 2018 (Lockheed Martin, 2018):

• F-35A: $89.2 million per aircraft.
• F-35B: $115.5 million per aircraft.
• F-35C: $107.7 million per aircraft.

Lockheed’s goal is to reduce the cost of a F-35A to $80 million per aircraft by 2020.

References

FOI 2018/10389 dated 24 August 2018.

Lockheed Martin. (2018) F-35 Lightning II Program Status and Fast Facts. Available from World Wide Web: https://www.f35.com/assets/uploads/documents/F-35_Fast_Facts_-_Dec_2018.pdf. [Accessed: 21 January, 2019].