Aircraft
Italy Begins F-35 Assembly; Dutch Store Their First Two Jets
Assembly of the first F-35 Joint Strike fighter to be produced outside the U.S. has begun in Italy.
An F-35 center fuselage supplied by Northrop Grumman was loaded on a C-5 transport this month for delivery to Italy’s new final assembly and check-out facility at Cameri Air Base. (Photo: Northrop Grumman)
An F-35 center fuselage supplied by Northrop Grumman was loaded on a C-5 transport this month for delivery to Italy’s new final assembly and check-out facility at Cameri Air Base. (Photo: Northrop Grumman)

Assembly of the first F-35 Joint Strike fighter to be produced outside the U.S. has begun in Italy. Manufacturers delivered major structural components to the new final assembly and check-out (FACO) facility at Cameri Air Base, west of Milan, where the first F-35A conventional takeoff and landing variant, designated AL-1, will be assembled for the Italian air force. The facility is operated by a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Alenia Aermacchi.