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Lockheed Martin and the F-35 Joint Program Office have delivered the 500th F-35, while the global fleet surpassed 250,000 flight hours in February.
The 500th production aircraft is a U.S. Air Force F-35A, to be delivered to the Burlington Air National Guard Base in Vermont. The world’s 500-strong F-35 fleet includes 354 F-35A conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variants, 108 F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) variants and 38 F-35C carrier (CV) variants for the U.S. and international customers. The 250,000 flight hours include all F-35s in the fleet comprised of developmental test jets, training, operational, U.S. and international aircraft.
“These milestones are a testament to the talent and dedication of the joint government, military and industry teams,” said Greg Ulmer, Lockheed Martin, vice-president and general manager of the F-35 program. “The F-35 is delivering an unprecedented fifth generation combat capability to the warfighter at the cost of a fourth generation legacy aircraft.”
The F-35 operates from 23 bases worldwide. More than 985 pilots and over 8,890 maintainers are trained. Nine nations use the F-35 from their home soil, eight services have declared initial operating capability and four services have employed F-35s in combat operations.
