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Fourth F-35 Lightning II Rolls Out as Production Line Fills Up at Lockheed Martin

Written by thomas · Filed Under Aeronautics News 

August 18, 2008

thomas

FORT WORTH, Texas, Aug. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — With one F-35
Lightning II aircraft in structural testing, two in flight test, six in
final assembly and another 14 in various stages of production, Lockheed
Martin (NYSE: LMT) added to the program’s momentum on Saturday by finishing
assembly of the fourth F-35 aircraft, a short takeoff/vertical landing
(STOVL) F-35B.

“The completion of our fourth F-35 — and the growing line of aircraft
now forming behind it — shows an emerging rhythm in our production line,”
said Dan Crowley, Lockheed Martin executive vice president and F-35 program
general manager. “In just a few days we will have all three Lightning II
variants in final assembly when we take delivery of the first F-35C carrier
variant center fuselage. From the very first F-35, assembly quality has
been unprecedented, and each successive aircraft is measurably better than
the one that preceded it.”

The new aircraft was moved immediately to the flight line, where it
will undergo an extensive battery of ground tests before its first flight
in early 2009. The first F-35B made its inaugural flight on June 11 and has
completed nine missions. The first F-35A, a conventional takeoff and
landing (CTOL) variant, has flown 45 times.

The U.S. Marine Corps is expected to operate about 340 F-35Bs. The
United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, and the Italian Air Force
and Navy also will operate the STOVL variant, which will be the world’s
first STOVL aircraft to combine stealth with supersonic speed.

The F-35 is a supersonic, multi-role, 5th generation stealth fighter.
Three F-35 variants derived from a common design, developed together and
using the same sustainment infrastructure worldwide, will replace at least
13 types of aircraft for 11 nations initially, making the Lightning II the
most cost-effective fighter program in history.

Lockheed Martin is developing the F-35 with its principal industrial
partners, Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems. Two separate, interchangeable
F-35 engines are under development: the Pratt & Whitney F135 and the GE
Rolls-Royce Fighter Engine Team F136.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security
company that employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally
engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and
sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The
corporation reported 2007 sales of $41.9 billion.

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