Germany's first F-35A fighter nears completion at Lockheed's Texas plant

Lockheed Martin is preparing to finish the first F-35A stealth fighter built for Germany, the manufacturer said. A video the company released on 17 August showed the jet, designated MG-01, sitting on its landing gear with cockpit and canopy fitted. It was still coated in green zinc-chromate primer rather than its eventual radar-absorbent finish.

Lockheed said the aircraft has now moved into the final finishes stage, where it will get paint, stealth coating and remaining detail work. Final assembly began in March at the company's main F-35 production site in Fort Worth, Texas, after the forward, centre and aft fuselage sections and wing assemblies were joined and the jet was placed on its own landing gear. During that stage, workers fitted the aircraft with its single Pratt & Whitney F135 engine, movable control surfaces and onboard systems.

Initial fabrication of structural parts for Germany's jets started in late 2024, Lockheed noted.

Germany has ordered 35 conventional take-off and landing F-35As. Eight are currently in production, but the first batch will not head straight to Germany. Those eight aircraft will instead be based at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Arkansas for at least a year. There, the first group of Luftwaffe pilots and maintenance crews will train and be certified on the type before operations begin at home.