Attached to the Lockheed martin announcement about the Navy's F-35C version of the Joint Strike Fighter passing its critical design review was a new artists' concept of the carrier-based variant.

The size of the wing and the wing-tail geometry are remarkable, and very different from the land-based F-35A and STOVL F-35B.

It's also somewhat more blended than the images shown in 2006 briefings.

The reason that the C wing has grown to 670 square feet - bigger than an F-15 wing - is that the 145 knot carrier approach speed requirement is non-negotiable and hard to hit, and can set up a classic design trap - a bigger wing is needed to provide more lift at the low end of the speed range, but adds weight, which calls for more lift. Both the weight and the wing size have gone up since 2003.

Meanwhile, the wing is sized for the approach case, and larger than is really needed for other missions - this can cause penalties, for instance, in transonic drag.

The F-35C is unusual among modern carrier aircraft in having a simple high-lift system, comprising part-span flaps and drooped ailerons. The Super Hornet, about equal in weight, has a smaller wing fitted with massive trailing-edge flaps that extend across the entire span. The inner sections actually extend rearwards as well as downwards, to increase the wing area.

Why doesn't the F-35C have a similar system? Part of the answer is geometry - the close-coupled tail may not have the leverage to overcome the trim change of bigger flaps. A more complex system would also reduce commonality with the other variants.

Photo credits: Lockheed Martin, Boeing