The F-35 Lightning II is gradually becoming a significant part of the U.S. Armed Forces, as well as its allies’ forces. However, before its production and proliferation, it had to compete head-to-head with the Boeing X-32 fighter concept.
In the 1990s, the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) contract competition marked a drastic shift in the structuring of U.S. air power. In contrast to past fighter contracts, the JSF aimed to find a jet that could perform multiple tasks adequately, simplifying procurement, training, and maintenance.
The JSF also aimed to streamline the force structure of the entire network of U.S. allies, with the same JSF serving multiple countries, improving network connectivity.
Four proposals were submitted for the JSF, with two chosen for prototype testing. The first airframe was the F-35’s ancestor, the Lockheed X-35, and the second was the Boeing X-32, which was deemed unattractive due to its unusual engine intake, bloated fuselage, and delta wing configuration. Although Boeing’s primary objective was not to create an attractive airplane, they emphasized the X-32’s low manufacturing and lifecycle costs to win the JSF contract.
However, the X-32’s flight tests were not streamlined, with mechanics having to reconfigure the aircraft between Short Take Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) and supersonic modes, unlike Lockheed’s entry, which could reconfigure mid-flight. As a result, the JSF evaluators favored the X-35, and the X-32 was not produced, with only two ever built, one in the National Museum of the United States Air Force and the other at the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum.