The US Department of Defense (DOD) accepted its 45th F-35 Lightning II aircraft delivery for 2015, meeting the program production goal for the year. With this delivery, Lockheed Martin has delivered 154 operational aircraft to the DOD and partner nations since program inception.
“Meeting aircraft production goals is a critical stepping stone in demonstrating the program is ready for the expected significant production ramp up,” F-35 Program Executive Officer Lieutenant General Chris Bogdan said.
“It took thousands of people around the world to achieve this milestone and they should all be proud of what they accomplished.”
The 45 F-35 deliveries include:
- 26 F-35A - US Air Force
- 2 F-35A - Royal Norwegian Air Force (first two)
- 1 F-35A - Aeronautica Militare (first Italian Air Force)
- 8 F-35B - US Marine Corps
- 8 F-35C - US Navy/US Marine Corps
The 45 F-35 Lightning II aircraft are assigned to the following installations:
- 17 - Luke Air Force Base, Glendale, Arizona – including all international jets
- 8 - Marine Corps Air Station, Beaufort, South Carolina
- 8 - Eglin Air Force Base, Valparaiso, Florida
- 5 - Hill Air Force Base, Ogden, Utah
- 7 - Nellis Air Force Base, Las Vegas, Nevada
Of the 45 aircraft delivered, 44 were from the Fort Worth facility in Texas and one was from the Cameri facility in Italy. The 2015 total represents a 25 per cent increase in production on the previous year.
“Delivering the most F-35s in program history is a clear demonstration of our growing maturity and stability,” Lockheed Martin F-35 Program General Manager Lorraine Martin said.
“Congratulations to the entire government and industry team for their work to deliver 45 aircraft.”
The F-35 Lightning II, a 5th generation fighter, combines advanced low observable stealth technology with fighter speed and agility, fully fused sensor information, network-enabled operations and advanced sustainment. Three distinct variants of the F-35 will replace the A-10 and F-16 for the US Air Force, the F/A-18 for the US Navy, the F/A-18 and AV-8B Harrier for the US Marine Corps, and a variety of fighters for at least 10 other countries.