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Issue: September 2004, page: 4
Carbon fibre fuselage assemblies
Assembly of the forward fuselage for the US Air Force’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) stealth aircraft has begun at Lockheed Martin’s plant in Fort Worth, Texas, USA.
In addition, assembly of the centre fuselage – which, like the forward fuselage, is made of carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) – also began recently at partner Northrop Grumman’s facility in Palmdale, California, USA. Another partner in the F-35 project, UK-based BAE Systems, will begin assembling the CFRP aft-fuselage and tails later this year at its plant in Samlesbury, UK. These subassemblies will be shipped to the Fort Worth plant, where they will be mated with the wings and forward fuselage for final assembly.
