F-35B fighter jets assembled in Italy for the first time

The first F-35B 5th generation fighter aircraft assembled in Italy under license from the US manufacturer Lockheed Martin has left the factory.

The military news site Defense News reported that the first 5th generation F-35B fighter (short takeoff and vertical landing version - SVTOL) assembled in Italy under license from the US manufacturer Lockheed Martin has left the factory.

This is the second F-35 after the F-35A (air force version) assembled by the Final Assembly and Check Out (FACO) enterprise in Cameri, Italy in December 2015.

Currently, it is unclear when the above F-35B will be accepted into service with the Italian army.

FACO is known as the main repair and maintenance facility for the F-35 5th generation fighter aircraft in Europe. It is also one of the facilities licensed to assemble F-35 aircraft outside the United States. In the future, FACO will be responsible for assembling a total of 90 F-35 aircraft, including 60 F-35As and 30 F-35Bs, for the Italian army. In addition, F-35 units for the Dutch army will also be assembled here.

The first F-35B rolled off the production line at FACO's facility in Cameri.

To date, Italy has invested approximately $3.5 billion in research and development; preparing facilities for the 5th generation aircraft assembly line in Cameri. Rome hopes that FACO will be one of the main hubs supplying F-35 aircraft to NATO allies and countries in need. Currently, the first contract to supply the first 8 F-35A/B aircraft to the Italian army worth nearly $1 billion at FACO has come into effect.

The F-35 is known as the most expensive weapons development program in the world. This aircraft line is designed with stealth and multi-role capabilities. However, the development process of the F-35 has been behind schedule and has been plagued by many scandals and problems. Most recently, the Pentagon's Test and Evaluation (OT & E) Agency confirmed that this 5th generation fighter has errors in its control software, is vulnerable to lightning strikes, and that F-35 test flights have been limited due to technical errors. Even the first F-35A units delivered to the US Air Force were found to have many problems related to technical errors.

Designed with many advanced features, including stealth capabilities, the US Department of Defense plans to spend 392 billion USD to buy 2,442 F-35 aircraft (the expected price per aircraft is 160 million USD). However, the cost of the F-35 may increase significantly due to technical errors and the development process is 7 years behind schedule.

In addition to the US military, the F-35 is currently being purchased by the UK, the Netherlands, Italy, Israel, Canada, Norway, Japan, Türkiye and South Korea.

According to QĐND