By DAVE MAJUMDAR • PARIS — The F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) might be faster than previously reported.

In a briefing at the Paris Air Show on June 21, U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. C.D. Moore, deputy program executive officer for the F-35 program, said that the aircraft could fly at 750 knots and Mach 1.6. That would mean that at certain altitudes, the aircraft has a top speed that is considerably higher than previously known, although the Mach limit would remain the same.

Just a week earlier, F-35 test pilot Lt. Col. Hank “Hog” Griffiths had said the aircraft could do just 700 knots and Mach 1.6. Other test pilots had previously cited the same airspeeds.

By way of comparison, the F-16 is a 800-knot and Mach 2 jet.