F-35 Program Enters Full Rate Production

The F-35 program, an enormous multinational effort, marked a key milestone last week with the program entering full rate production phase after years-long delay. The F-35 program is currently being produced for the U.S. Armed Forces as well as international partners & allies under the Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) phase with 156 F-35s being produced annually. The F-35's transition to full-rate production phase marks a major achievement for the program, JPO as well as Pentagon and Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor, and a culmination of years of hard work by the entire program team and industry value chain. The F-35 program has been witnessing a surge in demand following the deterioration of global security environment since the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014 and especially over the past few years since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. The F-35 program's order book has surged over the past decade with a multitude of allied nations & NATO members scrambling to order F-35 jets to replace their ageing, Cold War-era 4th generation fighter aircraft, including, Finland, Switzerland, Norway, Netherlands, Italy, Czech Republic, Greece and Germany. The U.S., on the contrary, is mulling plans for F-135 engine upgrades on the F-35s being operated currently by the U.S. Forces for enhanced power & cooling with engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney gearing up for engine core upgrades on the F-35 which is likely to provide a new & substantial incoming revenue stream for the company for the medium term.