Work to produce air vehicle spares and endurance spares for Israel has started in F-35 production facilities in the United States and United Kingdom.

According to a recently posted contract notice, Lockheed Martin was awarded $14m for ‘the procurement of initial air vehicle spares to include endurance spares packages to coincide with F-35 air vehicle deliveries in support of the government of Israel’.

The notice read:

“Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (24.4 percent); El Segundo, California (9.1 percent); Owego, New York (8.6 percent); Samlesbury, United Kingdom (7.2 percent); Cheltenham, United Kingdom (6.2 percent); Nashua, New Hampshire (5.8 percent); Torrance, California (5.5 percent); Orlando, Florida (4.9 percent); Cedar Rapids, Iowa (3.7 percent); San Diego, California (3.6 percent); Phoenix, Arizona (3.1 percent); Melbourne, Florida (3.1 percent); Irvine, California (2.5 percent); N. Amityville, New York (2.4 percent); Windsor Locks, Connecticut (2.2 percent); Baltimore, Maryland (2.2 percent); Papendrect, Netherlands (1.9 percent); Rolling Meadows, Illinois (1.8 percent); and Alpharetta, Georgia (1.8 percent), and is expected to be completed in December 2021.”

Israel is currently building the infrastructure needed to accommodate F-35s, including hardened aircraft shelters, underground pens, and maintenance facilities. In addition, the IAF has ordered 30 M-346 trainer jets to train F-35 pilots. Construction of a manufacturing facility to produce wings under license for the F-35 was completed by mid-2014. The site is to produce a total of 811 wing pairs. Initial orders for the F-35 will be for 20 planes, with a total of 75 intended.

The first customized F-35I test platform is expected to be delivered to Israel by 2020. Former Israel Air Force chief Maj.-Gen Amir Eshel has called the F-35 “game changing” saying that Israel gathered new intelligence during a single flight by the F-35 early 2017 that other reconnaissance and intelligence gathering systems would take weeks to gather. The IAF declared the first batch of F-35s operational in December 2017.

George Allison
George Allison is the founder and editor of the UK Defence Journal. He holds a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and specialises in naval and cyber security topics. George has appeared on national radio and television to provide commentary on defence and security issues. Twitter: @geoallison

4 COMMENTS

  1. Is that a typo? So Israel orders 20 F-35s with a possible 75 in total and gets to build wings for 811 aircraft? That is like Italy ordering 131, getting the only non US FACO / MRO & U facility before reducing the order to 90

    Somewhere the UK missed a trick by being the sole Tier One Partner ….

    • Chris,
      I think that:
      “Construction of a manufacturing facility to produce wings under license for the F-35 was completed by mid-2014. The site is to produce a total of 811 wing pairs.”

      Should have begone on a new paragraph. As the Notice of work (Above) makes no mention of an Israeli production facility.

      • farouk, I thought that as well at first but it appears that they actually are manufacturing wings for the F-35A variant… http://www.iaf.org.il/4414-43509-en/IAF.aspx

        I was under the impression that it was just the US and the UK that were involved in production at that scale. Without checking though, at 811 pairs I assume this doesn’t cover anywhere near the full number of eventual orders for the A variant, so I imagine that another, larger manufacturing site will exist somewhere else in the US.

        From what I can see, it seems that the Israelis have been manufacturing F-15 and F-16 wings at the same site as well for a number of years.

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