BAE Systems has begun assembling the aft fuselage of the first short takeoff and vertical landing F-35 Joint Strike Fighter at the company’s Samlesbury, England facility, officials said July 5. BAE expects to deliver the horizontal and vertical tails of the STOVL version—destined primarily for the Marine Corps, but USAF also plans to buy some—to Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth, Tex., facility for final assembly by the end of the year. BAE also is working on the F-35’s electronic warfare systems suite and advanced low-observable apertures and countermeasure systems.
Aircraft readiness will suffer if Congress does not approve some $1.5 billion worth of spare parts the Air Force requested in its annual Unfunded Priorities List, sent to Capitol Hill last week, Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin said.