Lockheed Martin has hired more than 1,800 new employees to support the F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft programme.
In addition, the company has confirmed plans to generate an additional 400 job opportunities at its Fort Worth facility in Texas, US, to help support increased production on the programme.
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The 400 new jobs will be created for positions such as avionics technicians, machinists, mechanics, and assemblers.
With more than 1,500 suppliers across 46 US states and Puerto Rico, the F-35 programme supports more than 194,000 direct and indirect job opportunities.
While Lockheed Martin has successfully reduced F-35 unit costs by more than 60% since the first production lot of the aircraft fleet, it intends to reduce the cost of an F-35A Lightning II aircraft to $80m by 2020.
Lockheed Martin chairman, president and chief executive officer Marillyn Hewson said: “The F-35 is an iconic product that represents the best of US innovation, technology leadership and advanced manufacturing.
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By GlobalData“The programme supports 194,000 direct and indirect jobs nationwide, and as we ramp up production we are creating even more opportunities for American workers.
“The men and women who participate in the F-35 programme take pride in delivering unmatched, fifth-generation capabilities to the US military and our allies around the world.”
Equipped with stealth technology, supersonic speed, advanced sensors, increased weapons capacity and superior range, the F-35 is capable of collecting, analysing and sharing data.
The aircraft is designed to enhance airborne, surface and ground-based assets in the battlespace.
