F-35 Lightning II Program Status and Fast Facts

F–35 Lightning II Program Status and Fast Facts

April 23, 2015

 Program Status                                                                       

•     2015 SDD flight test activity totals through April 15:

o  F–35A Flight Science aircraft have flown 62 times

o  F–35B Flight Science aircraft have completed 69 flights

o  F–35C Flight Science aircraft have flown 75 times

o  The Mission Systems Test Aircraft have flown 129 times

•    Since December 2006, F–35s have flown more than 30,000 cumulative flight hours.

 F–35 Delivery Status                                                               

140 F–35s have been delivered to the Department of Defense as of April 23:

•     120 Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) Aircraft

o  65 F–35As (including two international aircraft)

o  39 F–35Bs (including three international aircraft)

o  16 F–35Cs

•     20 System Development and Demonstration (SDD) aircraft complete the test and development fleet:

o  There are four F–35As assigned to Edwards AFB, Calif., and five F–35Bs along with four F–35Cs stationed at PAX River NAS, Md. This count includes six static aircraft and AA–1.

 Highlights of the Last Two Months                                       

•     Israel signed a contract to buy 14 additional F–35 fighter jets. (Feb. 23)

•     The Dutch Parliament approved an order for the nation’s first production batch of eight F-35’s. (March 3)

•     The first internationally built F–35A rolled out of Italian FACO. (March 16)

•     Luke AFB officially began training pilots to fly the F–35 with their first ever training sortie. (March 19)

•     Projected costs for the F–35 dipped $7.5 billion in the last year according to the Pentagon. (March 19)

•     Australia’s first F–35A pilot, Squadron leader Andrew Jackson, flew his first flight at Eglin AFB (March 20)

•     The Edwards ITF completed F–35 aerial refueling testing for the KC–135 SDD flight test program. (March 26)

•     The Netherlands officially signed for its first eight operational F–35s. Two of the aircrafts will be assembled at the Italian FACO facility. (March 29)

•     Completed Climatic Chamber testing on the F–35B that included a variety of weather extremes with temperatures from –40 to 120 degrees. (March 29)

•     The 56th fighter wing at Luke AFB flew its 1,000th F–35 sortie. (March 31)

•     MCAS Beaufort performed an F–35B STOVL demonstration flight during their recent air show. (April 13)

•     Two F–35C’s visited Lemoore NAS to give the pilots and Navy personnel a chance to check out the new fighters before they’re officially stationed there. (April 15)

•     Norway’s first F–35, AM–1 is now weight on wheels as it makes its way down the production line. (April 16)

•     Luke conducted the first F–35 training deployment, taking 10 jets to Nellis AFB for two weeks. During the detachment they maintained a 95 percent availability rate. (April 17)

 Planned Quantities                                                                 

USAF                          1,763 F–35As

USN                             260 F–35Cs

USMC                         353 F–35Bs/67 F–35Cs

U.K. RAF/RN             138 F–35Bs

Italy                             60 F–35As/30 F–35Bs

Netherlands                 37 F–35As

Turkey                         100 F–35As

Current as of April 22, 2015

Produced by Lockheed Martin F–35 Communications Team

Distribution Statement A: Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

Australia     100 F–35As Norway     52 F–35As Denmark     30 F–35As Canada     65 F–35As Israel     33 F–35As S. Korea     40 F–35As Japan     42 F–35As

 Funding                                                                                    

•     Long–lead funding LRIP lot 9 (57 aircraft)

•     Full funding approved for LRIP lot 8 (43 aircraft)

•     Full funding approved for LRIP lots 6&7 (71 aircraft)

•     Full funding approved for LRIP lot 5 (32 aircraft)

•     Full funding approved for LRIP lot 4 (32 aircraft)

•     Full funding approved for LRIP lot 3 (17 aircraft)

•     Full funding approved for LRIP lot 2 (12 aircraft)

•     Full funding approved for LRIP lot 1 (2 aircraft)

 Cost                                                                                         

•     The U.S. DOD announced an agreement aimed at reducing the price of an F–35 to the equivalent of today‘s

4th generation fighters by the end of the decade known as Blueprint for Affordability in 2014.

•     The U.S. government has stated the projected cost of an F–35 purchased in 2018 will be $85 million.

That’s the equivalent of $75 million today.

•     More than $500 million reduction in concurrency costs over the first five production lot contracts.

•     The LRIP 8 contract reflects an average airframe unit cost approximately 3.5 percent lower than the LRIP

7 contract signed in 2013 and a 57 percent reduction since LRIP 1.

• LRIP 6 Aircraft Costs (not including engine): o 23 F–35As CTOL – $103 million/jet o 6 F–35B STOVL – $109 million/jet

o 7 F–35C CV – $120 million/jet

•     LRIP 7 Aircraft Costs (not including engine):

o 24 F–35As CTOL – $98 million/jet o 7 F–35B STOVL – $104 million/jet o 4 F–35C CV – $116 million/jet

•     LRIP 8 Aircraft Costs (not including engine):

o 19 F–35As CTOL-$94.8 million/jet

o 6 F–35B STOVL – $102.0 million/jet

o 4 F–35C CV – $115.7 million/jet

 F–35 Quantities by Variant and Country for LRIP 1 − 8     

LRIP 1 (2 Total) – 2 U.S. / 0 International

United States

o  2 F–35A CTOL for the U.S. Air Force

LRIP 2 (12 Total) – 12 U.S. / 0 International

United States

o  6 F–35A CTOL for the U.S. Air Force

o  6 F–35B STOVL for the U.S. Marine Corps

LRIP 3 (17 Total) – 14 U.S. / 3 International

United States

o  7 F–35A CTOL for the U.S. Air Force

o  7 F–35B STOVL for the U.S. Marine Corps

International

o  1 F–35A CTOL for the Netherlands

o  2 F–35B STOVL for UK

LRIP 4 (32 Total) – 30 U.S. / 2 International

United States

o  10 F–35A CTOL for the U.S. Air Force

o  16 F–35B STOVL for the U.S. Marine Corps

o  4 F–35C CV for the U.S. Navy

International

o  1 F–35A CTOL for the Netherlands

o  1 F–35B STOVL for the UK

LRIP 5 (32 Total) – 32 U.S. / 0 International

United States

o  22 F–35A CTOL for the U.S. Air Force

o  3 F–35B STOVL for the U.S. Marine Corps

o  7 F–35C CV for the U.S. Navy

LRIP 6 (36 Total) – 31 U.S. / 5 International

United States

o  18 F–35A CTOL for the U.S. Air Force

o  6 F–35B STOVL for the U.S. Marine Corps

o  7 F–35C CV for the U.S. Navy

International

o  3 F–35A CTOL for Italy

o  2 F–35A CTOL for Australia

LRIP 7 (35 Total) – 29 U.S. / 6 International

United States

o  19 F–35A CTOL for the U.S. Air Force

o  6 F–35B STOVL for the U.S. Marine Corps

o  4 F–35C CV for the U.S. Navy

International

o  3 F–35A CTOL for Italy

o  2 F–35A CTOL for Norway

o  1 F–35B STOVL for the UK

LRIP 8 (43 Total) – 29 U.S. / 14 International (4 UK, 2 Norway, 2 Italy, 4 Japan, 2 Israel)

United States

o  19 F–35A CTOL for the USAF

o  6 F–35B for the U.S. Marine Corps

o  4 F–35C for the U.S. Navy

International

o  4 F–35B STOV for UK

o  2 F–35A CTOL for Norway

o  2 F–35A CTOL for Italy

o  4 F–35A CTOL for Japan

o  2 F–35A CTOL for Israel

 Program Highlights by Year                                                  

•     2001 –The Pentagon announced that an international team led by Lockheed Martin won the competition to build the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). The X–35B takes off and lands vertically for the first time.

•     2002 – Canada, Denmark, Norway, Italy, Turkey, Australia and the Netherlands join F–35 partnership.

•     2003 – Production of first F–35 major airframe components begins. Lockheed Martin completes the first F–35 hardware delivery with the installation of LM–STAR™.

•     2004 – Assembly begins on the first F–35 in Fort Worth. Engineers remove more than 2,700 pounds of unwanted estimated weight from the short–takeoff/vertical–landing (STOVL) variant.

•     2005 – Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney successfully perform the first start of an F-35 aircraft test engine. The first F–35 completes assembly of major structural components in Fort Worth.

•     2006 – The U.S. Navy dedicated a $24 million facility at NAS Patuxent River, Md., for testing of the Navy and

Marine Corps’ jets. The first F–35 is completed on schedule and moves from the factory for ground testing. The F–35 is officially named Lightning II. The Netherlands becomes the first partner nation to extend its participation into the production and support phase of the program. AA–1 completes its inaugural flight.

•     2007 – Electrical power is applied to the F–35B for the first time. The F–35B makes its debut amid customers from the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.K.’s Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, and the Italian Air Force and Navy at a rollout ceremony in Fort Worth.

•     2008 – The shaft–driven lift fan propulsion system operates for the first time in the aircraft during ground testing. The F–35B flies for the first time. The first F–35 finishes all planned testing at Edwards AFB. The F–35 flies supersonic for the first time. Lockheed Martin rolls out the first weight–optimized CTOL variant.

•     2009 – The U.K. announces they will purchase three F–35B operational test aircraft. A ceremony in Fort Worth marks the rollout of the U.S. Navy’s first F–35C. The first F–35B arrives at NAS Patuxent River.

•     2010 – An F–35B completes a vertical landing for the first time. F–35A successfully completes full–scale static testing. The F–35B flies faster than the speed of sound for the first time. The Government of Canada announces plans to acquire the F–35. F–35 center wing production operations begin in Marietta. Israel becomes the first country to receive the F–35 through the U.S. government’s Foreign Military Sales process. “Block 1,” the first of three principal software–development blocks for the F–35’s mission systems, made its inaugural flight.

•     2011 – The U.S. Air Force accepts the first production-model F–35. F–35 successfully completes static structural testing. BF–2 successfully executed a vertical landing on the deck of the USS WASP. AF–1 achieves the maximum design limit Mach number for F–35, Mach 1.6. Japan announces that the F–35 has been selected as the country’s next generation fighter.

•     2012 – The first night flight in the history of the F–35 program was completed at Edwards AFB. An F–35A flew the first external weapons test mission in F–35 program history. The program completed in–flight refueling of an F–35B STOVL while configured with external weapons. Norway orders its first F–35. The first international F–35 was delivered to the U.K. Luke AFB selected for F–35A Pilot Training. Operational Utility Evaluation at Eglin Air Force Base successfully completed. F–35 completes more than 5,000 flight hours. AETC declares Eglin AFB ready for training.