Lockheed Martin launches 700th F-35 fighter

Lockheed Martin launches 700th F-35 fighter

The United States releases one stealth fighter every three days. Yesterday, September 28, the press service of the Lockheed Martin Corporation announced the exit from the assembly line of the 700th F-35 Lightning II aircraft.

F-35 fighters are purchased for their armed forces by fourteen countries. Within the framework of the Joint Strike Fighter program, more than 1,460 pilots and 11,025 personnel were trained, and the total flight time of the F-35 exceeded 430,000 hours. By the end of this year, Lockheed Martin plans to produce 133-139 of these fighters, in 2022 - 151-153. From 2023, it is planned to produce 156 units annually.

F-35 Lightning II fighters are developed in three modifications: F-35A (basic), F-35B (with short takeoff and vertical landing) and F-35C (takes off from an aircraft carrier using a catapult, lands using an air guard). The F-35B reached initial combat readiness in 2015, the F-35A in 2016, and the F-35C in the US Air Force in 2019