In the long history of mankind, humans have always vied for domination. This bloody process was often built around the capacity to inflict as much damage as possible while sustaining as little harm as feasible. The global struggle of the Cold War (1947 - 1991) saw the United States of America and its allies compete against the Communist Bloc led by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. This wide confrontation across all aspects of Civilization was most pronounced at the military and technological where both sides sought to gain a decisive edge, especially in the new and ever-developing field of aeronautics.

   Aviation had indeed progressed tremendously since the Wright Brothers’ First Flight in 1903. Second World War (1939 - 1945) era innovations such as the jet engine and air pressurization allowed aircraft to fly faster and higher, while radars eased navigation. However, this ability to detect would also be an opportunity to threaten and counter as aircraft could now be intercepted much more effectively by other planes or by ground anti-air defense, posing a constant and lethal risk particularly to bombing missions. These constraints became apparent during the Vietnam War (1955 - 1975).

   The Lockheed Corporation, an American military company known for its innovative designs, began working on a more effective solution besides dangerous low altitude flight and uncertain anti-radar electronic warfare. Its secretive Skunk Works division, in charge of the company's advanced research and development, famous for futuristic aircraft like the U-2 Dragon Lady and SR-71 Blackbird, came up with a design that would render the aircraft’s radar signature so insignificant that it would make it effectively invisible. Stealth technology was born with the introduction of the F-117 Nighthawk in 1983. Drawing lessons from its use in the Gulf War (1990 - 1991) and the Kosovo War (1998 - 1999), Lockheed released the F-35 Lightning II in 2006. 

   The F-35 is truly a multi-role aircraft. Its stealth allows it to strike ground targets including air defense installations deep into enemy territory with near impunity. Its avionics can detect and eliminate air targets at very long distances beyond visual range. Its frame can operate from an aircraft carrier and even take off and land vertically without needing a runway. Fielding this system alongside dedicated air superiority fighters like the F-15 Eagle, F-22 Raptor and Eurofighter Typhoon could easily grant air supremacy, something worth its extremely high operating and maintenance costs. With the USA being for years the only country with stealth capabilities, foreign procurement of the F-35 remained a tightly controlled process both politically and legally. Exports began solely to America’s staunchest allies such as the United Kingdom, South Korea, Australia, Japan, and Israel before expanding to its other partners within NATO and the European Union. These export versions tend to be less capable and slightly different from the original American fielded ones, but the extent of this inferiority varies. The more committed a country is to American interests, the better and more adapted the version they receive will be to their demands. In practice, access to the F-35 is a sign of international loyalty to the USA.