Summary
- Lockheed Martin has delivered the 1,000th F-35 fighter jet, expects to deliver between 75 and 110 in 2024.
- The F-35 is the most popular fifth-generation fighter, with more units than all other fifth-generation jets combined.
- Orders for the F-35 are coming in from around the world, with the US DoD being the largest customer.
Considerable delays and problems with the F-35 Lightning II’s Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) program have resulted in a massive backlog of around 100 fighter jets left sitting at Lockheed facilities. However, it seems the Pentagon has compromised and is now once again accepting F-35 deliveries despite lingering problems with the TR-3 program (Denmark has similarly taken deliveries). Lockheed Martin has reported that the 1,000th F-35 has been delivered.
Lockheed Martin delivers 1,000th F-35 fighter jet
Flight Global reported back in January 2024 that Lockheed Martin had assembled the 1,000th fighter jet. Now, Lockheed Martin’s Director of Operations, Frank A. St. John, stated in an interview with CNBC that Lockheed has been able to deliver the 1,000th fighter jet.
John was speaking to the Squawk Box program at the Farnborough International Fair in England. Lockheed Martin has also stated that they anticipate to deliver between 75 and 110 F-35s in 2024.
“I am very proud of our team […] and our industrial partners who led us to this milestone. As I said, we started deliveries last week and now we have delivered the thousandth F-35 and we expect many more” – Lockheed Martin Director of Operations
Earlier, the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO), Lt. Gen. Mike Schmidt, announced, “We have initiated a phased approach to the delivery of TR-3 F-35 aircraft. The first phase will deliver jets with an initial training capability in July and August. By the end of August, we will be delivering jets with a robust combat training capability, as we continue towards the delivery of full TR-3 combat capabilities in 2025.”
Related
Beyond The US: 5 Countries Equipped With F-35 Lightning II
Many countries around the world are purchasing the F-35A and F-35B variants of the advanced F-35 fighter jet.
The world’s most popular 5th-generation fighter
The 1,000 figure for the F-35 apparently includes all three variants (F-35A, F-35B, and F-35C) and both domestic deliveries to the DoD and export deliveries to US allies and partners. This means that not only is the F-35 the most popular fifth-generation fighter jet in the world, but it is also more numerous than all other fifth-generation fighter jets combined. Only 187 serial production F-22 Raptors were produced, around 250 Chinese J-20 Mighty Dragons are thought to have been built, and perhaps around 40 Russian Su-57 Felons have been built.
Photo: Joe Kunzler | Simple Flying
Orders for the F-35 continue to flow in from around the world, with Israel, Germany, and Greece among the more recent countries to place orders. But by far, the largest F-35 customer is the US DoD (with the Air Force, Marines, and Navy ordering all three variants). The US Air Force is eventually expected to order over 1,700 F-35As, the Marine Corps is expected to order approx. 350 F-35Bs and 67 F-35Cs, and the Navy around 270 F-35Cs.
However, the continuous delays with the F-35 program have caused a lot of consternation in Washington. Legislators are debating slashing (and confusingly even increasing) the number of F-35s to be purchased in FY 2025.