The strange X-32A fighter jet that became a meme hero has been restored in the United States (photos, video)
The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force has completed a complete restoration of the Boeing X-32A aircraft, which was created for the Joint Strike Fighter program.
This was reported by the museum’s press service in X (formerly Twitter).
The museum has completed a complete restoration of the X-32A fighter jet that Boeing offered to the US Army. However, the Air Force chose the X-35 fighter jet, now known as the F-35 Lightning II from Lockheed Martin. The Boeing product was made in only one copy.
Restoration is complete!
Boeing X-32A Video/Photo Shoot (NMUSAF Dec 2023).This was a multi-purpose jet fighter in the Joint Strike Fighter competition. It lost to the Lockheed Martin X-35 demonstrator, which was further developed into the F-35 Lightning II.https://t.co/ly2eCfGQpF pic.twitter.com/d2Hv7nSmSP
– USAF National Museum (@AFmuseum) December 11, 2023
The X-32A has made 66 flights in total. The Boeing fighter jet arrived at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in 2005, but it had been standing in the open for years. Then it was moved to a hangar, and for the last three months it has been undergoing restoration.
The X-32A fighter jet has become the subject of numerous memes due to its strange air intake and “pregnant belly”. However, the production version of the F-32 would have a different look.
The X-32A’s sibling, the X-32B variant with short takeoff and vertical landing, is another demonstrator. He made 79 flights and was not chosen by the military either. This aircraft is on display outside at NAS Patuxent River in Maryland and has also seen better days.
