Lockheed Martin announced that its technicians are installing the wings on the 100th F-35 strike fighter built to date on the company’s production line in Fort Worth, Tex. This airframe is an Air Force F-35A model, designated AF-41, that is destined for assignment at Luke AFB, Ariz., the future home of F-35A pilot training, according to the company’s release. Overall, the Air Force has plans to procure 1,763 F-35As. Of the first 100 F-35s, 40 have been for the Air Force: AF-1 through AF-41, with no AF-5 built in the series. The remaining 60 jets comprise 37 Marine Corps F-35Bs, 12 Navy F-35Cs, six ground test aircraft, three British jets, and two Dutch strike fighters, Lockheed Martin spokeswoman Laura Siebert told the Daily Report on Feb. 5. The very first F-35, a non-production-representative F-35A test jet dubbed AA-1, is not included in the 100, said Siebert.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
