Alenia Aermacchi wing components make first F-35 flight

Lockheed Martin today announced that the first Alenia Aermacchi-manufactured wing components installed on an F-35 Lightning II flew for the first time on March 6. The components were installed onboard AF-44, an F-35A Conventional Takeoff and Landing variant, which made its initial company checkout flight at Air Force Plant 4 in Fort Worth, Texas. AF-44 will be delivered to the U.S. Air Force later this year.

“For years, Alenia Aermacchi has demonstrated its ability to produce advanced materials for both civil and military high performance aircraft,” said Debra Palmer, Lockheed Martin vice president and general manager of the Italian Final Assembly and Checkout facility (FACO). “Its work on the F-35 Lightning II program is further confirmation of its leading role in this highly specialized aspect of aircraft manufacturing.”

Alenia Aermacchi is expected to produce more than 800 wings and wing components for the F-35 global fleet and is also responsible for, in coordination with Lockheed Martin, the assembly of all Italian F-35s manufactured at the FACO in Cameri, Novara.