F-35

The Inside Story of the Lightning II

By: Tom Burbage, Betsy Clark, Adrian Pitman, David Poyer - ccontributor

Narrated by: Rob Reider

The inside story of the most expensive and controversial military program in history, as told by those who lived it.

The F-35 has changed allied combat warfare. But by the time it’s completed, it will cost more than the Manhattan Project and the B-2 Stealth Bomber. It has been subject to the most aggressive cyberattacks in history from China, Russia, North Korea, and others. Its stealth technology required nearly 9 million lines of code; NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover required 2.5 million. And it was this close to failure.

F-35 is the only inside look at the most advanced aircraft in the world and the historic project that built it, as told by those who were intimately involved in its design, testing, and production. Based on the authors' personal experience and over 100+ interviews, F-35 pulls back the curtain on one of the most heavily criticized government programs in history from start to finish: the dramatic flights that won Lockheed Martin the contract over Boeing; the debates and decisions over capabilities; feats of software, hardware, and aeronautical engineering that made it possible; how the project survived the Nunn-McCurdy breach; the conflicts among all three branches of the U.S. military, between the eight other allied nation partners, and against spy elements from enemies.

For fans of Skunk Works by Ben Rich and The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes, F-35 will pique the interest of airplane enthusiasts, defense industry insiders, military history aficionados, political junkies, and general nonfiction audiences.

©2023 Tom Burbage, Betsy Clark, Adrian Pitman, David Poyer (P)2023 Skyhorse Audio

Critic reviews

“During the Cold War, the F-16, which I flew, dominated the skies over Europe. Many nations anchored their fleets on its capabilities. Europe's security now requires the capabilities of the F-35, which will dominate not only the air domain, but support information dominance across all domains, including our ground forces. Building that coalition was a strategic imperative. This book tells that story.”—General Phil Breedlove, former Commander, U.S. Air Forces, Europe; Supreme Allied Commander, Europe

"A carrier without jets is nothing! The RN/RAF F35 partnership is an operational necessity, but the RN/USMC F35 partnership is strategic, and a game changer.”—Admiral Sir George Zambellas, First Sea Lord 2013-16

“A fascinating tale of the birth of the Joint Strike Fighter. From the halls of congress to the office of the Secretary of Defense, the fight to terminate fielding of the Lightning II was relentless. And yet because of the visionary leadership and tenacity of a few, we fly this magnificent airplane today…Bravo!”—General James F. Amos, USMC (ret) 35th Commandant of the Marine Corps

Awesome

Great story and historical overview. Plenty of details from an intimately involved insider. Glad I listened to it.

Insightful

A very insightful and enlightening look into the F-35 history! i enjoyed it the story.

Absolutely fantastic!

This book is a wonderful dive into the technical challenges and accomplishments of the vast f-35 team. I highly recommend it for all lovers of flight. This book is right up there with Ben Riche's My Time at Lockheed.

Fascinating teamwork

The teamwork required to build this jet is the real story. This book helped
me understand where the jet fits in the complex game of war. Narration was great and if you are an aviation geek, you should enjoy this book.

Great Story from Concept to Acquisition

Lots of great design insights here. For example, you'd think you'd begin locking down final design with the A variant first, because it's easier. That's what they thought too, until someone realized it's the B (STOVL) model that would drive internal layout due to its extreme weight limit - the B version can not get heavier or it won't work, and the other variants have to start here due to commonality. I also really enjoyed the discussion surrounding the eventual adoption of "unified controls" for the STOVL - as the aircraft transitions from forward flight to hover, the "throttle" no longer throttles the engine but continues to control forward-backward vehicle movement via nozzle angle, etc., while forward-backward stick takes over engine throttling to continue to prosecute altitude changes. That's why throttle and stick are called "inceptors" on F-35. An excellent read, well done.

Great Aviation History/Leadership

I am proud to support the JSF program both as a Marine and a LM employee. Great book on laying out the challenges the program has overcome.

Great History of an Incredible Program

This book is perfect for people who want an intermediate deep dive into the F35 program. Well researched, written and narrated. Give this book a listen, it’s the best book on the subject!

Lots be bureaucratic detail

If you’re looking for a pilot oriented book on the F-35’s capabilities—this ain’t it.

If you’re an engineer or an acquisitions geek you’ll probably like it better. LOTS of details on politics, funding and how PR affects new weapons systems.

Burbage Builds Bridges Too

Who knew that Burbage rebuilt and strengthened our US military alliances with most (18?) of our key Allies. THAT is the legacy of the F35!

Informative, if one-sided

An interesting apologia for the F35 by people involved with the program. They gave good rebuttals of some common criticisms. I wish they'd dealt more thoroughly with differing viewpoints on fighter priorities & cybersecurity issues.
Ended with a bizarre non sequitur about rowing from Burbage.

Worth a listen. Skunk Works by Ben Rich is an excellent prelude - I would start with that one.