Lockheed Begins F-35 Lightning II Centre Wing Production

Lockheed Martin has begun F-35 Lightning II centre wing production at its Marietta facility in Georgia.

The firm will begin actual centre wing assembly work for the fifth generation F-35 aircraft from 30 July 2010 at its 320,000ft² Marietta B-1 aircraft production building.

Work on the aircraft’s centre wing in Marietta will help alleviate capacity constraints at the Fort Worth facility.

Lockheed Martin executive vice-president and general manager of the F-35 programme Larry Lawson said Marietta’s available facilities, tooling and worker experience with the F-22 are key enablers for F-35 programme production.

The F-35 Lightning II will combine advanced stealth with fighter speed and agility, fully fused sensor information and network-enabled operations to lower operational and support costs.