F-35 Wing, Aft Fuselage Begin

Wing assembly for the first F-35 Joint Strike Fighter began last August when workers at the Lockheed Martin facility in Fort Worth, Texas, loaded an aluminum bulkhead and a front spar onto an assembly fixture. A few days later, team partner BAE Systems began producing the aircraft aft fuselage in Samlesbury, England. When the structural assembly of the thirty-five-foot wing is complete, technicians will add the internal systems. All four major subassemblies of the F-35 are now in production. The first F-35, an F-35A conventional-takeoff-and-landing model, is scheduled to be completed in 2005. First flight is scheduled for August 2006.