BAE Systems has begun production of the first U.K. components for the first F-35B Joint Strike Fighter. The F-35B is the Short TakeOff Vertical Landing (STOVL) variant of the F-35 family.

The U.S. Navy has dedicated a $24 million facility at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., for testing of the Navy and Marine Corps' newest jets: the Lockheed Martin F-35B and F-35C Joint Strike Fighter.

Joint Strike Fighter chief test pilot Jon Beesley gave a progress report on the development of the F-35 to the Naval Aviation Foundation Association of Naval Aviation Pax River Squadron Dec. 9, in the Cedar Point Officers' Club.

Another milestone was reached in the F-35 program when the first CTOL aircraft, AA-1, was hoisted into the air, weighed, and moved from one location in the factory to a new location approximately 100 yards away.

In what seems a never ending trend, another new military aircraft may see fewer numbers produced due to rising costs. While Australia has indicated that it would purchase 100 new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft to replace its F/A-18 and F-111 jets, higher prices may force the Australian government to reduce thier order by up to half.

The Pentagon, seeking to curb expenses in the $256 billion Joint Strike Fighter program, plans to make Pratt & Whitney the sole supplier of engines for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jet by ending a competing engine development program.

With the installation of horizontal tails on the first F-35, the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) team has completed assembly of the aircraft's major structural components. The next milestone in the aircraft's march to first flight is engine installation, planned for early 2006.

Flight test engine #1 will be delivered to Lockheed Martin's plant in Ft. Worth later this month where it will be installed into the first flight test F-35 airframe.

The Royal Australian Air Force's decision to go ahead with buying the F-35 might be surprising, but not when one looks at what the alternatives had been. The Australians had been considering ten options for the future of the RAAF.

BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company have completed the installation of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) vertical tails, representing a major milestone in the F-35 Program.

Pratt & Whitney F135 ground test engines have logged more than 4,000 System Development and Demonstration (SDD) ground test hours as the company nears completion of the engine that will power the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter's (JSF) first flight next year

L-3 Communications announced that an international team led by its Display Systems division has been awarded a contract worth up to $200 million to develop and demonstrate the Panoramic Cockpit Display and related computer systems for the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Turkey is positioning itself to take delivery of the world's most advanced, international multi-role fighter. The first F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is nearing completion and is preparing for its first flight next year. The program continues to meet milestones on schedule as evidenced most recently on Sept. 7, when electrical power to the aircraft was switched on for the first time.

As the first F-35 Joint Strike Fighter moves toward its inaugural flight next year, the program continues to meet milestones on schedule and is planning for initial production and operational capability for the armed services.

The first F-35 Joint Strike Fighter came alive with electrical power today, as technicians at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth initiated "power-on" - the incremental process of testing the aircraft's circuits, electronic components and wiring. The event was completed on schedule.