Third F-35A Forges Ahead
Air Force’s third Australian F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (A35-003) is progressing along the production line in the United States (US).
The program’s milestone coincided with a visit by Australian Ambassador to the US Mr Joe Hockey, who toured the Lockheed Martin, Fort Worth facility where the F-35A Joint Strike Fighters are being assembled.
Meeting with Lockheed Martin representatives and Joint Strike Fighter Division’s US embedded staff, Mr Hockey was briefed on the achievements of the F-35 Program. He signed the bulkhead of the aircraft as it made its way down the assembly line at the Fort Worth facility.
Head Joint Strike Fighter, Air Vice-Marshal (AVM) Leigh Gordon said the A35-003 was the first of the next batch of eight Australian F-35s currently in production in Fort Worth to begin the “mate” process, where major components of the aircraft were joined together to form the aircraft structure.
“The aircraft will then make its way down the assembly line and through its check flights in preparation for delivery in early 2018,” AVM Gordon said.
A35-003 is the first F-35 to be assembled for Australia since the delivery of the first two RAAF F-35A’s in 2014.
“Like its two RAAF F-35A stablemates, A35-003 will be delivered to Luke Air Force Base Arizona in early 2018, where it will be used for F-35 pilot and maintainer training until permanently re-locating to Australia in 2020,” AVM Gordon said.
AVM Gordon said as Australia was a strategic partner in the global F-35 Program it was delivering significant benefits to Australian industry.
“As with every F-35 being produced, A35-003 includes components made by Australian companies, with more than $800m in production contracts so far.”
“More than 50 Australian companies have directly shared in production work to date, with hundreds more Australian companies who are indirectly benefiting through supply chain work,” he said.
“Australian industry will also be closely involved in sustaining the RAAF F-35As and providing through-life support services for the global fleet.”
Defence estimates industry involvement in F-35 production is expected to reach $2 billion by 2023.
(Aus DoD)
Saran buat bro admin...Klu boleh kata three,third,3,tiga ketiga di band dulu untuk tempoh setahun..itu nomor sial yg bikin nightmare banyak orang..takut2 ada yg stress berat terus ruang komentar dijadikan tempat lepas geram ke malaysia..
BalasHapusHahaha..0-3,smart posting. Bro,sudah terbiasa kok,bagi kami itu suatu kelucuan,bukan lagi suatu kekecewaan.Bukan hopeless juga bro,karena besoknya sudah terlupakan. :D
Hapushahaha..aku cuma mengusik orang2 1-2 hari ini terlihat semakin kerap melepas geram ke malaysia..sampai2 artikel tentang negara lain,tetap juga malaysia jadi sasaran..terlalu kecewa mungkin..klu soal pertandingan,aku sendiri tak menonton..cuma tau scorenya saja wakakak..klu menang ya menang..klu kalah tinggal usaha lagi..
HapusMrca zonk banyak bacot kih kih kih... emang enak tak da wang
Hapusya pasti lah om..klu gak enak,masa yg punya wang sanggup hilang nyawa mau kesini :-p
HapusBos jumlah win Indonesia di total masih lebih banyak loh hahahaha
Hapuskesian malaysie...enjin hilang songlap.....part radar hilang songlap
HapusVery silly. Patience will pay off. Those nations that need not acquire the f35 decided to just for the sake of new caoability or having a 5th gen fighter. Aussies should have waited longer and got the BlK3I they arent in any dangerous or risky environment anyways. Their f18s still works well. Same for the norwegians. Nations like south korea, Japan and israel they bought it because of the security situation they faced. Although the f35 is not worth the money yet they needed the 5th gen desperately. Uk is neither afterall although they live safely generally still they r a stromg country and have a part to contribute hence its normal but they could have waited a while longer.
BalasHapusThey desperately needed a replacement for their Hornets. They wanted F-22s but couldn't get the go ahead. Since they wanted interoperatibilty with the US (not NATO), the F-35 was the obvious choice. The USN did the same thing after all. They also got some offsets for this deal, as hinted in the article.
HapusAs to why they chose the A version instead of C, that may be up to debate. Some criticise the range of the plane they bought.
Do remember that the Super Hornets are a stop gap for the Aardvarks. They're also planing to convert most of them to Growlers. I guess it didn't really meet their fighter requirements.
Hornets, super hornets are still good. The thing is australia is not is a desperate situation where they r at constant threat. The upgrades for the F18 would have work well. They should have waited a while longer then their whole f35s are BLK3I standard.
HapusKesian malaysia tak boleh punya jet pejuang generasi 5,cuma boleh upgrade jet pejuang generasi 3 kih kih kih
BalasHapusHopefully Australian will do have a thorough maintenance capability on this.
BalasHapusDark Side can't get visa to go to Australia because he has no money to show in Australian Embassy..The Authority detected this gay from Singapore that hes family belongs to a poorer family in Singapore. He's both parents has no job to find because they are the family with no brain..hehehhe
Yah.. you can ask your mother about that.... that whore feed you pagpag(garbage) everyday cos no man one to screw her except you.
BalasHapus