This week’s Movie Monday actually appeared on the blog last October, but only for US viewers. This week, I’m pleased to share the same video for the rest of the world. NOVA’s Battle of the X-Planes documents the epic competition between Lockheed’s X-35 and Boeing’s X-32 for the Joint Strike Fighter contract.
The documentary is crafted in a similar way as the ’21st Century Jet’ in how it takes you behind the scenes of the development of these aircraft from a never before seen angle. For the Boeing side of the video, keep an eye out for elements of lean manufacturing and composite design that were applied to the X-32 in a limited way and found a much larger application on Boeing’s most recent jetliner.
For much more coverage of the Joint Strike Fighter program, make sure to visit Steve Trimble’s The D.E.W. Line.
This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.