LIGHTNING IITHE FIGHTER EVOLUTION - F-35

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in the supply chain. Around 15% by value

of each of the more than 3,000 F-35 aircraft

projected on the programme is manufactured

in the UK and, to date, has generated about

$13bn in contracts for British suppliers.”

While low-observable and first-line

maintenance will be carried out at Marham,

arrangements for the UK’s depot-level F-35

work is still being ‘worked through’. The

F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) nominated

the Final Assembly and Check-Out (FACO)

facility at Cameri in Italy for airframe

servicing. Turkey has been given the approval

to build Pratt & Whitney F135 engines under

licence and was also selected as the first

European engine depot overhaul facility.

The move to maritime

“Ever since aircraft first operated to and

from ships, the Royal Navy has been at the

forefront of maritime aviation and the arrival

of our first F-35Bs in the UK today, flown

by both RAF and Fleet Air Arm pilots, is

another important milestone on the way to

restoring our place as leaders in the field of

aircraft carrier operations,” commented First

Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Philip Jones. “Once

combined with our new aircraft carriers,

HMS Queen Elizabeth and her sister ship

HMS Prince of Wales, these extraordinary

jets will sit at the heart of our country’s

globally deployable expeditionary forces and

provide the potent conventional deterrent

we need to ensure our national security.”

With first-of-class sea trials for the F-35B

aboard the HMS Queen Elizabeth planned

for the autumn, No 17 TES is scheduled to

engage in a period of operational testing

aboard the carrier in autumn 2019 as

ABOVE: All four F-35Bs cycled their Lift-Fan systems once parked on the  ight line. Jamie Hunter
BELOW: Lt Cdr Adam Hogg shuts down and opens the canopy as engineers begin servicing the
aircraft. Jamie Hunter