A first Lockheed Martin F-35A stealth fighter built for European customer Belgium has been flown for the first time, with the airframer expecting to deliver the jet later this year.
One of 34 examples to be produced for the Belgian Air Component, the lead aircraft got airborne from Lockheed’s Fort Worth final assembly and test site in Texas in mid-May, with the registration FL-003.
“Belgium currently has eight jets at some stage of production,” Lockheed says.
“Delivery dates for Belgium will be determined based on the remaining TR-3 [Technical Refresh 3] test schedule,” it adds.
Lockheed chief executive James Taiclet said last month that the company expects to resume F-35 shipments in the third quarter of this year with a ‘combat training-capable’ version of the new operating standard, which has yet to conclude flight-testing.
Belgian pilots will later this year begin training on the nation’s F-35As at Luke AFB in Arizona, where its first eight examples will initially be located.
The European NATO nation is acquiring the F-35A to replace its Lockheed F-16A/Bs, 51 of which are currently in use, Cirium fleets data shows.
