WASHINGTON — The first Japanese-manufactured F-35A was rolled out Monday in Nagoya, Japan.

The aircraft was unveiled at Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries'  F-35 Final Assembly and Check Out, or FACO, facility, which is operated by Mitsubishi with the assistance of F-35 prime contractor Lockheed Martin and oversight from the U.S. government. The facility in Nagoya, Japan is the third location to assemble an F-35 aircraft, following the original line in Fort Worth, Texas and the Italian FACO in Cameri, Italy.

The unveiling event was attended by more than 200 people, including leaders in the defense industry and Japanese and U.S. governments. Among the attendees were Lt. Gen. Jerry Martinez, commander of U.S. Forces Japan and 5th Air Force, and Kenji Wakamiya, senior vice minister of defense for Japan.

F-35A Japan

AX-5, the first Japanese-assembled F-35A, was unveiled in Nagoya Japan, on June 5, 2017. The aircraft was built at a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries facility.
Photo Credit: Thinh Nguyen/Lockheed Martin

"Seeing the first Japanese built F-35A is a testament to the global nature of this program", said Vice Adm. Mat Winter, F-35 program executive officer. "The F-35 will enhance the strength of our security alliances and reinforce long-established bonds with our allies through training opportunities, exercises, and military-to-military events."

In addition to assembling the joint strike fighter, the U.S. Department of Defense selected the Nagoya FACO facility in 2014 to conduct heavy airframe and engine maintenance for the North Asia-Pacific region. The former F-35 program head, Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, said in 2014 that Japan invested its own funds into the building of this facility and it was a big factor in their selection.

Lockheed Martin has delivered four F-35As from its Fort Worth line to the Japan Air Self Defense Force, but the JASDF's remaining 38 F-35s will be assembled in at the Nagoya FACO.  

Meanwhile, Italy has manufactured seven F-35A aircraft at their FACO facility in Cameri, northern Italy, as of May.

Four of these are participating in pilot training at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. Three are now in operation and have flown more than 100 hours from the base, including tanking with the Italian Air Force’s B767 tankers and sorties alongside Italian Eurofighters, M-346 jet trainers and the Air Force’s new Gulfstream Airborne Early Warning aircraft.

On May 5, the FACO facility in Italy unveiled its first F-35B which is also the first to be produced outside the U.S.

"More than 220 operational F-35s have been built and delivered worldwide and they have collectively flown more than 95,000 flight hours," the announcement said.

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