The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is on track to meet the US military’s planned initial operating capability (IOC) targets from late 2015.
With the 100th example having recently been rolled out from Lockheed Martin’s assembly line and contracts signed for the sixth and seventh lots of low-rate initial production, optimism is increasing.
Development testing of the Block 2B software required for the USMC’s operational jets is running around one month behind schedule, having been affected by sequestration cuts and a brief, fleet-wide grounding order that affected the short take-off and vertical landing F-35B earlier this year. US Marine Corps will be able to declare IOC during 2015.
The USMC will be the first service to use the type operationally, with the US Air Force due to achieve the same milestone in 2016 and the US Navy two years later.
flightglobal
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