Zen 316: F35 Lightning II: 'Probably the last manned fighter ever developed'

Lockheed are currently showing off their new F35 Joint Strike Fighter, dubbed the Lightning II. Shit name (it sounds like the sequel to an Eighties action movie), but a great aeroplane.

It has been variously villified as a ludicrously expensive 'pork barrel' project build "for the wrong sort of war" and adored for the fact that it can do really cool stuff like take off vertically and render itself invisible to the enemy ("we can get in and out and do our business without even the most modern missile systems knowing we're there", but there's no denying this is an awesome piece of engineering. Just check out the YouChoob vids if you don't believe me. I mean, the pilot can see through the aeroplane using a head-up display projected onto the inside of his helmet. How cool is that?

All that aside, probably the most interesting thing about the F35 is that it may be the last fighter developed for a pilot who actually sits in the plane, which - like the horseless carriage - feels entirely wrong to a generation raised on the plucky adventures of Johnnies flying Spitfires against the Hun. I'm imagining that when they remake Top Gun in 2050, Maverick will be a wise-cracking fat kid with a bespoke gaming chair. Goose will still die, but probably from diabetes. Or inhaling a Cheeto. War is hell.