Nichols Martin
Lockheed Martin-built F-35 Lightning II aircraft from across the globe have collectively flown for 400,000 hours of operational, training and developmental activities.
Combat-assigned and operational F-35 units recorded 165,000 flight hours or approximately 41 percent of the total figure, the company’s F-35 program said Thursday.
The combined flight hours ran across 235,329 sorties of 224 detachments, with highest mission-capable rates exhibited by the aircraft’s conventional takeoff variant.
“This milestone is a testament to the dedicated work of the joint government, military and industry teams sustaining, maintaining, operating and flying F-35s around the globe,” said Bridget Lauderdale, vice president and general manager for the F-35 program at Lockheed.
The company also reported a cost-per-flight reduction of 44 percent and seeks to lower the cost by 40 percent more over the next half-decade.
