German F-35s to be built in the US at Fort Worth production facility

Although it was initially planned that a portion of the F-35s would be manufactured in Cameri, Italy, Germany has since decided to construct the entire fleet of 35 aircraft at its Fort Worth, Texas, facility

After initially planning to build some F-35s at the Final Assembly Checkout facility in Cameri, Italy, Germany has decided to build all 35 at the Fort Worth production facility. As previously reported, the German Ministry of Defense signed a letter of acceptance for 35 F-35 Lightning II fighter jets in 2022. Germany recently selected Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth, Texas, production facility over Cameri, Italy’s Final Assembly Checkout facility, for its aircraft.

Aviation journalist Gareth Jennings first reported that Lockheed Martin and the F-35 Joint Program Office confirmed that Fort Worth will finally assemble and check out German F-35 aircraft using major components from Germany, the UK, and Italy. Two FACO facilities outside the US assemble F-35s: Cameri in northwestern Italy and Nagoya in Japan. Cameri’s FACO makes F-35s for the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Italy.

At the LoA signing, Lockheed Martin vice president of F-35 business development J.R. McDonald said Germany would receive aircraft from Cameri and Fort Worth to avoid delivery delays.

Source: Newsroom