Lockheed Martin's subsidiary Aeroparts plans to increase its production capacity for the F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft.
According to Gilda Jackson, the unit's general manager, Aeroparts will spend most of this year constructing the new facility in a 35,000-square-foot space and employ at least 40 hardworking individuals to carry out the jobs. It will also add new equipment and conduct training activities.
Works in the upcoming factory will focus more on handling assembly work, such as painting and preparing the fighter jet's surface panels as large as 14 feet long for final assembly at Lockheed Martin's aircraft production site at Forth Worth, Texas.
While plans for the factory are being laid down, Aeroparts is also seeking lease options for a second plant in Johnstown as the company's crew will need an extra space to perform the task. Lockheed is reportedly planning to lease additional space by the fourth quarter of this year to start producing a subset of F-35 components.
"This was a competition for us and it's a testament to our dedicated workforce and their ability to get things done," Jackson said, noting that eight other Lockheed facilities were eyeing the project.
Lockheed Martin's F-35 is a next-generation joint strike fighter that is regarded as the most high-tech and "stealthiest" aerial assault weapon in the US. The F-35 Lightning II is expected to replace the F-16, which has been a mainstay of Lockheed's mile-long production line.
In fact, Lockheed Martin will start moving the production line of the F-16 Fighting Falcon from Forth Worth to South Carolina, signaling a possible end of an era. The transfer will take place at the end of the year after it delivers the last of the iconic fighter jet for Iraq in September.
According to Ken Ross, spokesman of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Forth Worth, the Texas plant needs more space as it starts ramping up the production of the F-35 Lightning II.
"As part our effort to make room for the F-35 production line here in Forth Worth, the F-16 production line must be relocated," Ross said.