2023-11-10 20:41:00
Lockheed Martin published a photo of this aircraft in front of this factory, located in Fort Worth, Texas (southern United States), with the caption: “the first F-35 of the Belgian Air Force on its way to final completion “. It appears towed, surrounded by technicians and still devoid of its definitive color – gray – on the fuselage and the wings.
It still has to go through a paint shop, then undergo stealth tests, before leaving the mile-long production line (regarding 1.6 kilometers) installed in a huge factory dating from the Second World War but constantly modernized.
“The wait is coming to an end,” adds Lockheed, referring to the roll out, planned during a ceremony on December 10 in Fort Worth in the presence of the Prime Minister. Alexander DeCroo.
This first F-35A (the conventional takeoff and landing version of this fifth-generation stealth plane also called Lightining II) has been being assembled for more than a year in the huge Lockheed factory, which produces some 150 planes per year.
Belgium ordered 34 F-35As in 2018, intended to replace its aging F-16s, for an amount of around 3.8 billion euros.
The first Belgian F-35 appears in broad daylight, before the “roll out” of December 10
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