On to the Other Versions

Dec. 20, 2006

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.

Related Content

Boeing Claims Progress on T-7 and Other Challenged Programs

April 25, 2025
Boeing appears to have become to overcome the problems that led to billions in losses on fixed-price defense contracts in recent years, point the company back toward profitabily, says Boeing president and CEO Kelly Ortberg.

Kadena Adds Second Batch of F-35s to Its Fighter Rotation

April 25, 2025
The Air Force deployed a second group of F-35s to Kadena Air Base this month, reinforcing its fighter presence at the key base in the wake of retiring all operational F-15C Eagles from the installation. The stealthy jets and Airmen from the 421st Fighter Squadron, nicknamed the “Black Widows” out…

Air Force Futures Boss Leans Toward ‘Low End’ CCA in Next Increment

April 24, 2025
The Air Force is leaning toward a less-sophisticated autonomous aircraft in the second increment of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, the services chief futurist said. He also suggested that the next increment of CCA may be air-launched, a la the "Rapid Dragon" experiments conducted by the service in recent years.

SDA Hires an Integrator to Keep Its Next Satellite Tranche on Schedule

April 24, 2025
After the first tranches of its ambitious low-Earth orbit constellation faced production and supply chain issues that delays launches, the Space Development Agency is trying something new for its next round of satellite procurement. The agency awarded a $55 million contract to SAIC on April 22 for “system engineering and integration…