WASHINGTON, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin Corp. workers Monday began assembling the wings of the first of the military's new F-35 Joint Strike Fighters.
Production on the cutting-edge warplane's wing assembly was being done at the same Fort Worth, Texas plant where work on the forward fuselage began two months ago. The 35-foot structure consists of an aluminum frame covered with a carbon-fiber skin.
The mid and aft sections of the fuselage are being assembled in Palmdale, Calif., and Samelsbury, England.
The F-35 is designed to replace a half-dozen of the aircraft models currently in the U.S. and British arsenals, including the U.S. F-16 and F/A-18 and Britain's Harrier jump jet.
The first aircraft is scheduled to be ready to fly in 2006.
