Yakovlev Yak-141...the F-35's daddy...

Photos and caption from Enrique 262 Tumblr Page.

Яковлев Як-141-Yakovlev Yak-141; NATO reporting name “Freestyle”, the world’s first supersonic VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircraft.
Unlike the Harrier, and like her predecessor, the subsonic Yak-38, she used a pair of lift engines to help in vertical operations, which would hinder her performance to a certain degree, as said engines would remain a dead weight after horizontal flight was achieved.

Her development was cancelled with the collapse of the Soviet Union, and curiously enough, the lessons learned from her helped Lockheed into developing their own XF-35, after a brief partnership with Yakovlev in the early-nineties.

Isn't the irony just delicious?  First the layout of the F-35 was inspired by a Russian design.  Second the USMC pushed for the X-35 instead of the X-32 because they thought that heating issues would be much less for this layout...and last Lockheed Martin did a brief partnership with Yakovlev and then dumped them once they had all the info they needed to proceed alone, kinda like they did with Patria with regard to the ACV contest!

STOVL J-20?!?!?!

via IDRW.org.

According to Russian Military-Industry Courier weekly and US Aviation News Weekly speculation,China has obtained from Russia the technology for a VTOL fighter jet, and will probably develop a VTOL version of the J-20 stealth fighter jet.
The technology was formerly used in Russia’sYak-141 VTOL fighter.
A prototype of the R-79-300 engine used in the Yak-141 was sold to China in 1996. In 1998, Russia transferred technology related to the nozzle of the engine to China.
The engine is a vector thrust turbofan with maximum thrust of 8,994 kg, which can be raised to 15,500 kg with additional boosting. Its nozzle can turn 95 degrees downwards with a lifespan of 1,500 rotations.
The Yak-141 is able to take off within a short distance of 5 metres.
It has set many world records for VTOL fighters, including climbing to 12,000 meters in 116.2 seconds with effective load of 2,000 kg and 130.5 seconds with 2,000 kg, and a climbing speed of 250 m/s from the height of 3,000 to 8,000 metres.

Wait.

What!?

A STOVL J-20?

I can hear the Pentagon pissing their pants all the way from here.

NOTE:  This goes out to my American readers in particular.  You need to shake yourself out of the belief that China only copies tech and has no ideas of its own.  Even if that were true, they're doing something different.  They're taking ideas and concepts that have in some cases been rejected here and working them up.  The J-20?  Its a large fighter/interceptor.  We're getting word that a STOVL example might be in the works and the only thing that can be said is that the story is false?  The plane has a HUGE fuel load (apparently).  Lose some fuel, replace it with a powerful enough lift fan (and since they stole F-35 plans they could simple double the size of the fan on that plane...or whatever engineers do) and they have their plane.  They could follow the French example on their Mirage STOVL concept and use multiple lift engines.  The issue is that they're progressing and we're cutting.  Across the board.  Get over the idea of inherent American superiority.  We're going to have to do as we always have.  We're going to have to work for it.

F-35. American built, Russian inspired...never proven.

Yak 141.

The world's first Supersonic STOVL airplane.  Do you recognize the engine layout?  Basically the same as the F-35.  This airplane never went into production.

What does all this have to do with the price of tea in China?  It boils down to the fact that (and I hate having to admit this) STOVL capability and the airplanes that the USAF and USN need are totally incompatible.  You can share avionics, engine cores etc...but sharing airframes is a step too far.

The F-35.  American built, Russian inspired, never proven and an eventual failure.  How do we know?  Because even the daddy's of this design (the Russians) abandoned it. 

How did Lockheed Martin get this wrong about the F-35?

Lockheed Martin made this statement on their page about "5 facts you didn't know about the F-35"...

1. The F-35B is the first supersonic STOVL aircraft

For the first time in aviation history, a short-takeoff and vertical-landing (STOVL) fighter aircraft flew past the sound barrier. U.S. Marine Corps pilot Lt. Col. Matt Kelly flew the F-35B STOVL test aircraft, known as BF-2, to a speed of Mach 1.07, or 727 miles per hour on June 10, 2010. The test took place at 30,000 feet near Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland.

How could they get something so simple so wrong.  There have been several STOVL/VTOL airplanes that have achieved supersonic speed....How about the YAK-141..

You don't like Russian aircraft?  How about we dip back in time to the EWR VJ 101 VTOL aircraft?

You're old skool and the German's piss you off?  How about the French Dassault Mirage IIIV?

So am I playing "gotcha" with Lockheed Martin?  Nope, not at all.  I am saying that they're reaching...twisting history....ignoring facts....all in the hope of painting the F-35 in a favorable light.