iscover
Northrop Grumman has achieved a significant milestone, delivering its 1,500th centre fuselage for the F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter aircraft.
The fuselage is used across all three variants of the F-35 aircraft and assembled at Northrop’s Integrated Assembly Line in California. Northrop Grumman said its IAL facility produces and delivers one centre fuselage every 30 hours.
This content is available exclusively to Australian Aviation members.
A monthly membership is only $5.99 or save with our annual plans.
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
“The use of augmented reality and virtual reality tools on the IAL led to a 35 per cent reduction in centre fuselage assembly time and a 20 per cent reduction in technician learning curve,” the company said in a statement.
The IAL has been operational since 2011 and allowed Northrop Grumman to fulfil its roles and responsibilities as a principal partner on F-35 Lightning II aircraft production for all three variants: the F-35A, F-35B and F-35C, all offering a range of alternating features to meet specific customer needs.
Northrop Grumman additionally produces the AN/APG-81 AESA radar that is the primary integrated communication, navigation and identification system used on the F-35 variants.
The F-35A Lightning II is a fifth-generation, multi-role fighter aircraft produced by Lockheed Martin and became operational in Australia in 2021. According to Defence, its supersonic capabilities and efficient internal communications networks make it a useful stealth fighter asset.
Australia has played a crucial role in the global F-35 program, having committed to acquiring 72 F-35A aircraft for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as part of the $17 billion AIR 6000 Phase 2A/B program.
The first Australian F-35s arrived in-country in 2018. Operated primarily from RAAF Base Williamtown and RAAF Base Tindal, the fleet has since reached full operational capability, replacing the ageing F/A-18A/B Hornet fleet.
As the program progresses, Australia’s F-35 fleet will continue to benefit from ongoing upgrades. The global fleet passed 1 million flight hours last year, with the ability to co-ordinate with autonomous drone systems, including the United States Air Force’s upcoming fleet of Collaborative Combat Aircraft.
Want to see more stories from trusted news sources?
Make Australian Aviation a preferred news source on Google.
Click here to add Australian Aviation as a preferred news source.
