Lockheed opens new F-35 facility

WASHINGTON ― Lockheed Martin celebrated the formal opening of a new manufacturing facility in Pinellas Park, Florida yesterday to support the increasing F-35 production rate.

The facility, which is expected to create more than 80 new jobs by mid-2019, will assemble canopies and bulkheads for the F-35 Lightning II fighter.

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“This is an exciting day for us in Pinellas Park,” said André Trotter, program director and general manager of the Lockheed’s Pinellas Park branch. “Continued growth and success of the F-35 program is vital to our national security. The hard-working men and women who produce critical components for the F-35 program are what make all of this possible.”

On Monday Lockheed received a $1.4 billion contract to sustain the global F-35 enterprise. The new Pinellas Park facility will contribute in Lockheed’s efforts to produce and sustain the growing F-35 fleet, totaling 1,763 aircraft in the program of record.

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