Scott Nicholas
Lockheed Martin has reached the joint government and industry delivery goal of 66 F-35 aircraft units for 2017, an increase of approximately 40 percent from the previous year.
The company said Monday it has supplied approximately 265 F-35 aircraft to U.S. and international clients and more than 5,500 pilots and maintenance personnel have been trained using the platform.
“Meeting our 2017 delivery commitment is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our joint government and industry team to deliver the transformational F-35 air system to the warfighter,” said Jeff Babione, Lockheed Martin executive vice president and F-35 program general manager.
Babione noted the F-35 development team works to continue surpassing program challenges and meet milestones that represent the capacities of the joint strike fighter platform.
Lockheed said the F-35 enterprise expects to bolster production year-over-year to meet the current full rate target of 160 F-35 Lightning II units in 2023.
The company hired more than 1,300 employees at its Texas-based facility and anticipates to recruit a total of 1,800 workers in preparation for the increase in F-35 production.
