International F-35s Ordered

The US Department of Defense awarded Lockheed Martin a $2.1 billion contract modification on 3 June to produce seventeen F-35 Lightning II fighters in the third lot of low-rate initial production, or LRIP. The contract also includes two F-35B operational test aircraft for the United Kingdom and one F-35A for the Netherlands, which are the first aircraft ordered for the F-35 international partners. Assembly of the fourteen aircraft in the first two LRIP lots is already under way, with initial F-35 deliveries to the US Air Force scheduled to begin in 2010. Eight development aircraft have entered testing. The remaining eleven test aircraft are scheduled to roll out by the end of 2009.