BAE Systems has completed the aft fuselage for the first F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to be produced during the programme's system development and demonstration phase. Produced at BAE's Samlesbury site in Lancashire, the section will be shipped to the USA this week for delivery to Lockheed Martin's final assembly line in Fort Worth, Texas.
The BAE-built aft section will be mated with the F-35's Lockheed and Northrop Grumman-produced forward and mid-sections and wing on 8 June, these parts having been joined at Fort Worth on 16 May. The conventional take-off and landing F-35A will be completed by year-end.
BAE will deliver 23 aft sections over the next two or three years and hopes to receive long-lead funding next year to move into low-rate initial production (LRIP). It will produce 10-12 aircraft sets a month by LRIP batch five and production could reach 20 a month by the end of the decade, says BAE's Tom Fillingham, vice-president and deputy programme manager for the JSF project.
The company is investing £74 million ($137 million) to support current activities and to prepare for production of JSF components. It is also involved in the design of the aft section for all three production F-35 variants.
CRAIG HOYLE/LONDON
Source: Flight International
