The F-35 Fighter Jet Quiets Haters With a Wild Demo Flight

The long-delayed, over-budget jet had a lot to prove. And it put on quite a show.

The most expensive weapons project in American history has missed deadlines, smashed budgets, and faced questions regarding its technical abilities. So when it showed up in France this week, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jet had plenty to prove.

Which explains at least some of the ferocity of the demonstration flight it put on Monday afternoon at the Paris Air Show, one of the aviation world's largest gatherings. With the six-minute flight packed with a full power takeoff, steep climbs, and the tightest possible turns, Lockheed Martin tried to silence its doubters and convince the world that the F-35 really is the ultimate aerial fighting machine.

The F35 seemed like such a good idea in 1996. Build just one military jet that could serve the Air Force, Marines, and Navy, the thinking went, and you can ditch the expense of creating and maintaining specialized aircraft for each.

More than two decades later, things haven't worked out so neatly. The costs of modifying one design for differing requirements, like taking off from aircraft carriers, have spiraled. The jet boasts some amazing tech—like the head-up display built into the $400,000 helmet—but engineers are still grappling with mountains of problems with the computers, sensors, and electrical systems.

The overpriced, overcomplicated F-35 program may seem ill-conceived, particularly when today's drones and satellites can do much of the work of a ’90s-era fighter jet. But it's too big and too far along to be abandoned now. Plus, the jet has finally started to prove itself in the skies.

For the first public demonstration of combat-style flight in Paris, a Lockheed pilot put an F-35A (the US Air Force variant) through an aggressive display of capabilities and maneuverability, all designed to showcase the abilities of the airframe and the Pratt and Whitney engine that puts out 40,000 pounds of thrust.

The flashy display alone (which you can watch above) won’t influence military buyers, but they are getting onboard. Lockheed is reportedly close to closing a $37 billion deal to sell the F-35 to 11 nations. And so, nearly 20 years on, the F-35 is finally poised to revolutionize airborne warfare. It's about time.