For many years fighter jets were specifically designed for individual military branches. In the 1990s, U.S. military leadership decided it would be more efficient to design one jet to meet the unique needs of the Air Force, Marines and Navy. In November of 1996, Lockheed Martin and Boeing competed to design the best X-plane solution to this new requirement. This would come to be known as the “battle of the X-planes”.

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Produced by Theresa Hoey & Claire Whitfield
Artwork by Becca Smith