The Israel Aerospace Industries (IA) held a special ceremony at the company’s wing assembly line on Sunday after the company handed Lockheed Martin the 200th wing assembled in Israel for the F-35 Lightning II multi-role stealth fighter aircraft.
By 2034, IAI is expected to produce more than 800 pairs of wings for F-35As under a contract signed in 2011 worth about $2.5 billion.
Following the execution of the initial contract in 2014, IAI inaugurated a state-of-the-art automated F-35 wing production line, investing in the required advanced systems and technologies to meet the aircraft’s innovative design. Production is extremely accurate and ensures the protection of the environment during all stages of the production process.
In December 2018, IAI inaugurated an innovative line for the production of F-35 wing skins, expanding the collaboration between the two companies. The wing coating is made of unique composite material for this aircraft, which is also manufactured by the IAI under the manufacturing contract.
There are only three factories in the world – in Israel, Italy, and the US.
Similarly, the IAI celebrated the delivery of the first aerostructure from the new F-16 production line to Lockheed Martin.
The IAI industry has been manufacturing aerostructures for the F-16 aircraft for Lockheed Martin since the 1980s. With the new demand for the F-16 Block 70/72 aircraft, the company recently reopened its production lines and invested in renewing infrastructure, improving the work environment and formulating new solutions in order to produce aviation structures adapted to the F-16 aircraft.
The aerospace industry also successfully re-established the supply chain of material suppliers supporting the production lines, tested and used instruments, examined first products off the production line, and passed training programs to the F-16 crews.
