F-35

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a family of fifth-generation, single-seat, single-engine stealth multirole fighter. It is still in testing and has yet to enter full production. It has a conventional, short and vertical starting and landing capability. The F-35B (the Marine variant) variant is featured in Battlefield 2, Battlefield Play4Free, and Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand.

Battlefield 2
The F-35B in Battlefield 2 is the only VSTOL (Vertical/Short Take-Off and Landing) fighter jet in the game and one of the four Fixed-Wing aircraft (F-35B, F-18, F-15E, A-10) used by the United States Marine Corps. It has no PLA or MEC counterpart and is only found on the USS Essex (LHD-2)

Compared to other aircraft
The F-35B has the same armament as the F/A-18A and both aircraft are single-seated, but the F-35B has VTOL/STOL capabilities, thus making the F-35B easier to land, but also making it slower and more vulnerable while in hover mode. One hovers by holding the throttle and brake.

The F-35B has the best dogfight capabilities of any aircraft in BF2. Its VTOL ability makes it easy to regain controllable altitudes after going into "high-fly" or "strato" to avoid enemy jets. It also has the best turning capabilities of any jet in the game giving it the ability to outfly other jets just by being able to fly tighter turns.

Appearances
The F-35B appears on every map with an American amphibious assault ship, and does not appear on any 16-player sized maps due to the lack of any amphibious assault ships.
 * Dalian Plant
 * Dragon Valley
 * Gulf of Oman
 * Wake Island 2007
 * Zatar Wetlands

Battlefield Play4Free
In Battlefield Play4Free, the F-35 is the USMC's fighter jet. It appears at Oman and Dalian Plant and is usable with the Jet pilot training. The Jet can fire heat-seeking missiles at enemy vehicles, including other jets, and drop bombs to destroy infantry and other ground targets with the JDAM bomb training. The F-35 also has access to countermeasures to thwart missile lock on, but the cooldown timer for this ability is longer than other vehicles in the game.

The F-35 features VTOL capabilities over its Russian counterpart, the MiG-29.

Multiplayer
The F-35 was seen in the November 4th Back to Karkand expansion pack trailer, and was confirmed to be one of the 3 new vehicles. It is featured on Conquest on Gulf of Oman, and Conquest Assault on Wake Island. Also, as with other jets, a parked F-35 functions as a spawn point until entered by a player.

Unlike the other jets, the F-35 has hovering capabilities which can be activated by using the control at low altitude. Hovering should be entered when the aircraft is level to ground—the hover jets cannot be aimed at the ground if the aircraft is oriented too far from level, and may result in a crash.

During hover, the movement keys control the aircraft's attitude (tilt), providing lateral control as if it were a helicopter, albeit without the ability to ascend or descend. The jet will drift forward when completely level. The low maneuverability of the jet while in this mode makes loitering dangerous, as it is extremely vulnerable to enemy anti-air. Pilots can also be shot through the canopy with small firearms.

Properly used, the hover function can be used effectively to attack enemy vehicles, or aircraft that have not taken off. It may also be used to hide behind terrain or large buildings.

The F-35 is a bit trickier to use in a dogfight than the other jets. The aircraft is slightly less maneuverable and may activate hover mode at inconvenient times. But its big strength is that its HUD is much closer to the player, consequently giving a much larger aiming reticle for the AAMs, balancing out the increased obstruction. It also can use VTOL to, at the right time, throw the enemy off or stay behind someone that is holding the brake down, thus maintaining time on target.

When B2K was first released, the F-35 was easily outmatched by its opponent, the Russian Su-35BM Flanker-E. However, several changes were made to it in the recent patches. First, its HUD was shrunk. Second, the F-35 now only attempts to hover at low altitude. Third, its been buffed to meet the Flanker's speed and use although it is still not as maneuverable as the Su-35 Flanker-E.

Battlefield 4
The F35 is the American multi-role stealth jet fighter featured in Battlefield 4. It was first seen in Battlelog during the exclusive beta. It later made a very brief appearance in the Battlefield 4 Accolades trailer, and again in the release trailer, chasing a J-20 and then destroying the aircraft in VTOL. It is also featured in the Jet Fighter medal.

Unlike the other jets, the F-35 has hovering capabilities which can be activated by flying at extremely low altitude. Hovering should be entered when the aircraft is level to ground—the hover jets cannot be aimed at the ground if the aircraft is oriented too far from level, and may result in a crash.

During hover, the movement keys control the aircraft's attitude (tilt), providing lateral control as if it were a helicopter, albeit without the ability to ascend or descend. The jet will drift forward when completely level. The low maneuverability of the jet while in this mode makes loitering dangerous, as it is extremely vulnerable to enemy anti-air fire. Pilots can also be shot through the canopy with small firearms.

The F-35 is a bit trickier to use in a dogfight than the other jets. The aircraft is slightly less maneuverable, but its big strength is that it can enter hover mode, at the right time, throw the enemy off or stay behind someone that is holding the brake down, thus maintaining time on target.

Trivia

 * In Battlefield 3, the HUD is displayed on the pilot's helmet, instead of the standard glass screen of other rush and conquest jets, resulting in the HUD itself being visible even when looking around. The aiming cross is also in the wrong spot, being fixed in the center of the HUD, meaning that the pilot must use the dot in the center of the circle to aim at its target
 * The gun on the F-35B variant is located on an external pod, which is not seen in-game because of its stealth technology, all weapon pods are internal until fired.
 * The F-35 is a multirole plane.
 * The F-35 model in game appears to be the F-35B variant used by the marines.