Fourth Quarter 2006
17
The F-35 is powered by a single Pratt & Whitney F135 engine that produces approximately 40,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner. The thrust makes the Lightning II the most powerful single-engine fighter ever built. To reduce cost, the nozzles of engines flown on the first aircraft do not have the low-observable characteristics that will be found on engines for subsequent aircraft. The geometry of the swiveling nozzle associated with the short takeoff/vertical landing version requires slightly shortened tail feathers.
Engine Nozzle