Northrop Grumman on Dec. 19 delivered the center fuselage for the first Marine Corps variant of the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter and began work on the center fuselage for the Navy’s carrier version. A company release noted that it planned to ship the Marine Corps short takeoff and landing version to Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth, Tex., facility on Jan. 8 to begin final assembly.
Air Force depots are not typically meant for quick repair jobs, but during Operation Epic Fury, the service moved some of its stateside heavy maintenance capability forward to fix battle-damaged aircraft closer to the fight.
