Friday, July 20, 2012

UK accepts first F-35

UK's F-35. Lockheed Martin photo
FORT WORTH, Texas -- The United Kingdom accepted the first international F-35 in a ceremony with senior representatives of the U.K. Ministry of Defence and the U.S. Department of Defense. The U.K. was the first of eight international partners to join the F-35 program and plans to acquire the F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing aircraft. Lockheed Martin is developing the F-35 with its principal industrial partners, Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems. Three variants of the F-35 will replace the A-10 and F-16 for the U.S. Air Force, the F/A-18 for the U.S. Navy, the F/A-18 and AV8-B Harrier for the U.S. Marine Corps, and a variety of fighters for at least 10 other countries. (Source: Lockheed Martin, 07/19/20) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 training center.