To replace an aging fleet of warplanes, the Pentagon plans to buy 2,400 F-35s, known as the Joint Strike Fighters, for the Air Force, Navy & Marines.

The F-35 is designed to take off from short runways and land vertically.

From The Wall Street Journal:

To replace an aging fleet of warplanes, the Pentagon plans to buy more than 2,400 F-35s, known as the Joint Strike Fighters. The F-35 will be used by the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, as well as U.S. allies such as the U.K.

Last year, Mr. Gates shook up the Pentagon's weapons priorities, canceling or curtailing programs that weren't relevant or were too expensive. [B]ut funding for the F-35 program actually increased.
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See update in this 2-1-10 article in The New York Times.