The F-35 is officially named "Lightning II"

At the public rollout ceremony held in Fort Worth, the U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff, General Michael Moseley, announced that the F-35 would be named "Lightning II". The name honoured two aircraft: the Lockheed P-38 Lightning of the Second World War and Britain's English Electric Lightning, a nod to the United Kingdom's role as a tier-one partner in the programme.