ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- F-35 Lightning
II aircraft operating at 12 different locations worldwide surpassed
the 50,000 flight hour mark this month.
The first flight hour was achieved by an F-35B aircraft, BF-1,
June 1, 2008. The 25,000 flight hour
milestone occurred in December 2014,
six years and six months later. As a sign of program growth and
maturity, the second 25,000 flight hours were reached only one year
and two months later.
"The F-35 program continues to grow and accelerate as we
complete additional flight testing and increase deliveries to our
U.S. and partner warfighters," said Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, F-35 Joint Program Executive
Officer. "The next 50,000 hours will be achieved much quicker as we
double the size of the F-35 fleet worldwide in the next three years
alone."
Flight hours are divided into two main categories: Operational
flying hours, flown by 155 jets delivered to six different nations,
and System Development and Demonstration (SDD) flight test hours,
flown by 18 aircraft assigned to the Integrated Test Forces at
Edwards AFB, and NAS Pax River. Of the 50,000 hours, operational
jets flew approximately 37,950 hours while SDD aircraft flew 12,050
hours. More than one third of the program's flight hours were flown
in 2015 alone. Among the three variants, approximately 26,000 hours
were flown by the F-35A, 18,000 hours by the F-35B and 6,000 by the
F-35C.
F-35s are flying at eight operating locations: Edwards Air Force
Base, California, Eglin AFB, Florida, Hill AFB, Utah, Luke
AFB, Arizona, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, MCAS Yuma, Arizona, Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, and Nellis AFB, Nevada. Jets are also flown at two
F-35 depot locations at MCAS Cherry
Point, North Carolina, and the Ogden Air Logistics Complex
at Hill AFB, Utah. Flight
hours were also recorded at the two F-35 production facilities at
Cameri, Italy, and Fort Worth, Texas.
To date, more than 250 F-35 pilots and 2,400 aircraft
maintainers from six nations are trained and more than 110 jets are
jointly under construction at both production facilities.
Three distinct variants of the F-35 will replace the F-16
Fighting Falcon and A/OA-10 Thunderbolt II for the U.S. Air Force,
the F/A-18 Hornet for the U.S. Navy, the F/A-18 and AV-8B Harrier
for the U.S. Marine Corps, and a variety of fighters for at least
ten other countries. Following the U.S. Marine Corps' July 2015 combat-ready Initial Operational
Capability (IOC) declaration, the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy
intend to attain service IOC this summer and in 2018, respectively.
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SOURCE Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company