You just physiologically knew that you had reached a point where your body was rejecting you being where it was.

Things are vibrating inside your chest, your head.

It's like how close to a fire can you be and be comfortable?

How close can you get without getting burned? I'm going to... Tom Reynolds, a recently retired Lockheed Martin flight test photographer, was often on the ground when an X-35 tested its engines in full afterburner. He was the lead flight test photographer was often on the ground when an X-35 tested its engines in full afterburner.

He was the lead flight test photographer of the X-35, and we'll hear more from him later in

this episode.

The 1980s and 90s were a time of consolidation and budget cuts.

Companies were merging to stay alive.

Lockheed merged with Martin Marietta in 1995 to become the name we now know Lockheed Martin.

At the same time, United States military leadership was redefining the required capabilities for their

next fighter jet.

The Air Force needed a replacement for their F-16 fighting falcons.

The Navy also needed a multi-role fighter that was aircraft carrier-based to replace their

aging F-A-18 Hornets,

and the Marines needed a follow-on to the Harrier-Vetal fighter.

For many years, fighter jets were specifically designed for each individual military branch, which was inefficient. So U.S.

military leadership wanted one aircraft that could meet the unique needs of all three military

branches. How can we combine a single airframe to do all the jobs that need to be done?

You might remember Lockheed Martin Senior Fellow Ed Burnett from our last episode.

His role on the X-35 was to test and evaluate flight simulation.

Can the Air Force and the Marine Corps share an airframe that we add a kit to the Air Force airplane to make it work for the Marines?

And that was a DARPA program called Ace Doval.

...