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Lockheed Martin began assembling the forward fuselage for the first F-35 Joint Strike Fighter on 12 July, as workers loaded a structural bulkhead into an assembly tool in Fort Worth, Texas. Principal team partner Northrop Grumman began assembly of the first center fuselage in May at its Palmdale, California, factory. The F-35 team's other principal partner, BAE SYSTEMS, will begin assembling the aft fuselage and tails later this year in Samlesbury, England. Those subassemblies will be shipped to Fort Worth, where they will be mated with the wings and forward fuselage for final assembly. The first flight of the F-35 is planned for 2006.
Photo By John Wilson
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