Northrop Grumman on Dec. 19 delivered the center fuselage for the first Marine Corps variant of the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter and began work on the center fuselage for the Navy’s carrier version. A company release noted that it planned to ship the Marine Corps short takeoff and landing version to Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth, Tex., facility on Jan. 8 to begin final assembly.
The U.S. began extensive air and artillery strikes against Islamic State group targets in Syria on Dec. 19 in retaliation for the killing of three Americans on Dec. 13 by a gunman affiliated with ISIS, U.S. officials said.
