Lockheed Martin hits F-35 production goal for 2015

The Department of Defense got an early Christmas present last week when Lockheed Martin delivered the 45th F-35 joint strike fighter this year to the government, meeting the program’s production goal for 2015.

With the release of the F-35 Lightning II, Lockheed Martin has delivered 154 operational aircraft to the U.S. government and its partner nations since the program’s inception. The aircraft, which was turned over on Thursday, is an F-35A, a lighter and sleeker version flown by the U.S. Air Force.

“Meeting aircraft production goals is a critical stepping stone in demonstrating the program is ready for the expected significant production ramp-up,” said Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, F-35 Program Executive Officer, said in a prepared statement. “It took thousands of people around the world to achieve this milestone and they should all be proud of what they accomplished.”

Delivery of the F-35 shows that the company can meet the production goals being set for it, officials say. The mile-long assembly line located on the city’s west side is expected to produce almost 200 aircraft a year by the end of the decade, said Michael Rein, director of F-35 communications.

Last year, the plant produced 36 aircraft. So this year’s output of 45 planes represents a 25 percent increase, he said. Deliveries are expected to exceed 50 next year.

“It is showing that our production line is maturing with consistent predictability to increase its rate production year after year,” Rein said. “We’re going to have to continually ramp up and this shows that we can do that.”

To meet the expected demand, Lockheed Martin’s plant is in the midst of a $1.2 billion reconfiguration. The plant expects to hire 1,000 additional employees for its assembly line alone starting next year. The plant has been building 30 to 40 airplanes a year.

Lockheed Martin’s F-35 delivery on Thursday came the day after Congress approved a $1.1 trillion omnibus funding bill that included orders for 11 more aircraft than expected for the 2016 budget year. Lockheed is scheduled to build 3,170 F-35s by the time the program ends in 2039, but company officials said that number could climb, particularly with the involvement of its foreign partners.

The United States and eight other countries — Australia, Canada, Britain, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Turkey — banded together to build and develop the F-35. Israel, Japan and South Korea are also foreign military customers.

The F-35 has two other variations: the F-35B is designed for short takeoffs and vertical landings and will be used by the Marines and the F-35C, with its bigger wings and tail span, is being built for the Navy for carrier landings.

The F-35 would replace several U.S. military aircraft including the F-16, the AV-8B Harrier, the F/A-18 Hornet and the A-10. At $391.1 billion, the F-35 program is the most expensive U.S. military weapon system ever made.

The 45 F-35 deliveries in 2015 include 26 to the U.S. Air Force and eight each to the Marine Corps and Navy. They are assigned to stations in Arizona, South Carolina, Florida, Utah and Nevada. Two F-35’s were delivered to the Royal Norwegian Air Force and one to the Italian Air Force.

Beyond meeting production goals, this was a big year for the F-35 because it also included a declaration by the Marine Corps that the F-35B, the most complicated version, was combat-ready.

Meeting the production goal also comes after Canada questioned whether it would stay involved in the F-35 program and will put the aircraft through a competition before selecting a replacement fighter. Denmark also announced that it would delay making a decison on the F-35 until 2016.

But Great Britain gave the program a vote of confidence, saying it is sticking by its plans to buy 138 airplanes and wants to accelerate its purchases by establishing a new fighter squadron. Earlier this month, the first Japanese-built F-35 began its assembly in that country and the first F-35 to be built overseas was delivered in Italy.

“We are ending 2015 feeling as optimistic and buoyed about this program as any time in our history,” Rein said.

This story was originally published December 21, 2015 at 11:23 AM with the headline "Lockheed Martin hits F-35 production goal for 2015."