F-35 deliveries target met

Lockheed Martin met its 2014 target by delivering 36 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters to the U.S. military, paving the way to collecting most performance fees. The U.S. accepted the last of the 36 jets Monday, the first carrier-variant built for the Marine Corps. Lockheed Martin has delivered 109 operational F-35s to the U.S. and partner-nations since 2001. Lockheed is building three variants of the jet for the Pentagon. Eight other countries that helped fund its development are Canada, Britain, Australia, Italy, Turkey, Norway, the Netherlands and Denmark. Israel, South Korea and Japan have also placed orders. (Source: Reuters, 12/22/14) The first Marine F-35C will be assigned to the Navy's VFA-101 "Grim Reapers" squadron of the 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., to be used for F-35C maintenance and pilot training at Eglin. (Source: Global Aviation Report, 12/23/14)