SAMLESBURY, England, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- British company BAE Systems said last week it had begun making the F-35 Lightning II Carrier Variant.
"The CV aircraft is the final F-35 variant to start production and means that all three variants of the world’s most advanced fighter aircraft are now being produced concurrently by BAE Systems," the company said in a statement.
"The initial manufacturing on the CV variant is of the first titanium and aluminum frames that will form part of the aft fuselage for the first CV aircraft, which is planned to take to the skies in 2009," BAE Systems said. "The aft fuselage and empennage -- vertical and horizontal tails -- for each F-35 Lightning II variant are being designed, engineered and built by BAE Systems, using the latest in advanced digital design and manufacturing technology," it said.
BAE Systems’ F-35 Lightning II managing director, Tom Fillingham said: “Developing three variants of the same aircraft, at the same time, is a first for the military aircraft industry. We are breaking new ground on the F-35 program."
“Each variant has its own unique challenges that have required some innovative solutions from the team. Now that we have all three variants in manufacture it is great to see all the design and engineering work coming together,” Fillingham said.
"The F-35 Lightning II program is the world’s largest defense program and is currently in the System Development and Demonstration -- SDD -- phase. The SDD phase will see the production of 21 test aircraft. Fifteen F-35s will undergo flight test, and six will be used for static testing. Another high-fidelity full-scale model F-35 will validate the aircraft’s radar signature," BAE Systems said.
"The aft fuselages for all variants of the F-35 are produced at BAE Systems' Samlesbury facility in Lancashire, (England). As production rates increase in the SDD phase, the BAE Systems team is starting a new aircraft assembly every four weeks -- a significant achievement for this stage of a development program," the company said.
