Lockheed Martin has over 3,100 F-35s on order, meaning that the world's skies could soon be crowded with variations on the same advanced warplane.
But there are lots of other amazing military planes out there. And they're cool for all kinds of reasons: stealth, long range, armaments, maneuverability — or just for looking cool.
Whether it's a sleek design, or pure unadulterated deadliness, these are the best and baddest planes in the air today.
This post was originally by Geoffrey Ingersoll.
The Russian-built Sukhoi Su-35 is one of the most maneuverable birds in the sky.
The Chengdu J-20 is China's first 5th-generation fighter. Little is known about it other than that the Chinese want it to have stealth — and that it looks a bit like a spaceship.
Though expensive and reliably dysfunctional, the F-35 has vertical take-off and landing capability, stealth, and highly advanced targeting capabilities.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider