The first units of the German Lockheed Martin F-35A will enter the reunion procedure in Marietta, Georgia, in the fourth quarter of this year, before deliveries begin in 2026.
Assembly work on the MG01 aircraft’s front bulkhead segment will begin in November or December, JR McDonald, Lockheed’s vice president of F-35 commercial progression, told FlightGlobal. The design will then be shipped to its final assembly plant in Fort Worth, Texas.
Acquired through the U. S. military’s sales facility, the 35 German stealth fighters will come from production batch 18 of the program.
The first six aircraft are expected to be delivered through October 2026, while those and two more will remain in the U. S. U. S. Air National Guard Station for educational activities at Ebbing Field Air National Guard Base, Arkansas.
A first arrival in Germany will take place in 2027 and the full complement of this air force will be delivered until 2029. This is in line with the Luftwaffe’s plan to retire the last of its Panavia Tornado attack aircraft in 2030.
McDonald claims that the German Air Force’s F-35As will have “dual capability,” referring to their ability to conduct both traditional and nuclear strikes. Berlin is in the process of obtaining the mandatory type for its nuclear deterrence commitment with NATO, with the aircraft capable of deploying the B61 bomb.
“The picture is complete and the aircraft is now certified,” McDonald says of the integration of nuclear weapons into the F-35. “The Dutch are also participating in this procedure at the moment,” he adds about the measures to make this capacity available. also to the European NATO countries.
Meanwhile, McDonald says Lockheed remains on track to resume deliveries of the F-35 in the third quarter of this year, once it gets approval for the Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) standard.
“We expect deliveries of 75 to 110 this year, and we are on the right track,” he said at the ILA Air Show in Berlin on June 6. No examples of the poacher were delivered in the first six months of 2024.
“Beyond that, we’ll start delivering the planes that have been waiting for this approval, so next year we’ll see more of them,” McDonald said. Lockheed has continued to build this type at its full pace, about 156 examples consistent with each year, since the U. S. Department of Defense issued a series of new leases on the U. S. Department of Defense. U. S. and foreign consumers halted deliveries due to incomplete testing of the TR-3.
“We are in the last stages of TR-3 certification,” he says, while flight tests are being carried out. “The stability [of the system] is very close to what we expected. “
Lockheed CEO James Taiclet earlier this year defined a phased stage for the arrival of the TR-3 standard, starting with an edition called “combat training” that will enter service from the third quarter.
“TR-3 is not a shady word. Without a doubt, TR-3 is; it’s what helps keep the aircraft one step ahead of risk for years to come,” he says, as it will form the basis of the long-running F-35 Block four standard. This procedure will allow for 75 major upgrades, adding sensors, weapon integration and interconnectivity.
Meanwhile, Lockheed continues to sell the F-35 in Europe, with Greece and Romania “working on the LOI [letter of intent] process. “
Lockheed anticipates there will be 650 F-35s in service with European consumers through 2035, providing critical mass as next-generation combat air systems mature.
“The number one priority is to stay ahead of the threat,” he says, noting that Europe’s two progression efforts are expected to start offering features from 2035 and 2040, respectively.
“How long will it be before there are enough of those [sixth-generation fighters] to have a tactically significant fleet?Now we are in 2040, 2045 or 2050.
“This tells me that for the next 25 years, we’ll be fighting with F-35s opposed to the threat. So, you’d better make sure you have the right F-35s, have enough of them, and keep them modernized. “
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