Lockheed Jet Fighters: Books - History, Construction and Deployment

F-22 Raptor - Lockheed Martin Stealth Fighter (Legends of Warfare)

The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor entered service in 2005, with production ending in 2011. Despite newer fighter designs, it remains one of the most advanced aircraft in operation today.
Due to its stealth technology, the F-22 program remains highly secretive. Fewer than 200 were built, and some of its systems are still classified. The aircraft is strictly prohibited from export. The F-22 has seen combat in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan and notably shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the U.S. coast in February 2023.

This book presents a concise pictorial history of the F-22, covering its design, development, service history, and role in airshows with the Raptor demo team. It includes many previously unpublished photographs from the author's personal collection.

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F-35 Joint Strike Fighter - A Great and Terrible Program

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This book examines the development, design, production and operational use of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, one of the most widely produced combat aircraft of its generation. It explores the programme's strategic importance to the United States and its allies, including its role in the procurement plans of the US Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy, as well as its growing international presence.

The book covers the military aviation and technological developments that shaped the F-35, its design features and evolving capabilities, and the processes involved in testing, manufacturing, procurement and operational deployment. Drawing on interviews, it provides insights into frontline operations, programme management, efforts to reduce procurement and maintenance costs, and decisions concerning the integration of new technologies.

Further topics include the international F-35 programme, the factors behind its export success, its ability to counter emerging adversary capabilities, and its anticipated development as military aviation moves towards sixth-generation fighters. The book presents both the programme's technical and operational achievements and its significant shortcomings, examining how these have affected the aircraft's performance and its intended strategic impact.

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F-80 Shooting Star Units of the Korean War (Osprey)

A fully illustrated study of the US Korean War fighter that fought in the first ever jet-versus-jet engagement in the history of aviation.
Built within a 180-day time limit in 1943, the F-80 Shooting Star first saw service in Italy in the final year of World War 2, and consequently was sent to bases in the US, Europe and the Far East after VJ Day. It was the latter groups based in Japan that initially bore the brunt of the early fighting in Korea, engaging MiG-15s in the world's first jet-versus-jet combat.

Flown principally by the 8th and 49th Fighter Bomber Wings, the F-80 served until the end of the war, completing an astonishing 98,515 combat sorties, shooting down 17 aircraft (including three of the vastly superior MiG-15s), dropping over 33,000 tons of bombs, and firing over 80,000 air-to-ground rockets.
Aside from the fighter-bomber Shooting Stars, the ultra-rare, but heavily used, photo-reconnaissance RF-80A saw extensive use in the frontline in Korea as a replacement for the vulnerable RF-51D.

Filled with first-hand accounts and rare color photographs taken by the veterans themselves, this is the engrossing story of the pioneering F-80 Shooting Star.

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Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk - An Illustrated History of the Stealth Fighter

The F-117 was probably the most secret aircraft ever developed. The Stealth technology upon which the plane was based made it unique in its appearance. With its stark black appearence and wispy configuration, the plane was a strange departure from the sleek supersonic fighters of the period.

This book covers the technical and operational aspects of the Nighthawk from its initial use over Panama through its shining moment during Operational Desert Storm.

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Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk Stealth Fighter (Osprey)

Developed by the legendary Lockheed 'Skunk Works, ' the F-117 Nighthawk was a phenomenal technical achievement. Featuring cutaways, detail plates and battlescene artwork, this book tells the incredible story of the design of the machine, from the revolutionary materials used to the highly advanced computer technology that was employed to make the Stealth Fighter invisible to enemy radar.

Written by the world's leading authority on the aircraft from Lockheed's 'Skunk Works', Paul Crickmore, this book reveals the impact the Stealth had in combat over Panama, Yugoslavia and most notably the Persian Gulf.

Contents: Introduction - Design evolution and development - Technical Specifications - Operational History - Conclusion - programme shut-down - Index.

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Lockheed P-80/F-80 Shooting Star : A Photo Chronicle

The Lockheed P-80/F-80 Shooting Star was the first American operational jet fighter. David McLaren's book chronicles the development and early trials of the aircraft during Lockheed's groundbreaking attempts to create a viable jet fighter, in a period when jet propulsion was still an innovative unknown.
This period also saw engineers and test pilots like Kelly Johnson and Tony LeVier facing many challenges, incidents and accidents as they attempted to create a new fighter from yet untested aerodynamic theories, and engines that were still under development.

Also discussed are the record breaking transcontinental and absoulte speed records set by the Shooting Star. Detailed analysis of the Shooting Star's combat record in Korea shows why the F-80 flew more combat missions than any aircraft in the war theater.
Also presented is a summation of all USAF, USAFR, and foreign countries that flew the P-80/F-80.

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The Lockheed F-94 Starfire - A Photo Chronicle

The first U.S. night/all-weather fighter aircraft is chronicled, as is its use by Air Defense Command, Continental Air Command, Alaska and others.

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YF-12A Flight Manual

Reprint of the pilot's flight manual for the YF-12A, the fighter version of the SR-71. This aircraft was intended to shoot down incoming Soviet Backfire bombers.

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