3 January 2020: Lockheed Martin has delivered the 134th F-35 aircraft which exceeds the joint government and industry 2019 delivery goal of 131 aircraft.
134 deliveries signify a 47 per cent increase from 2018 and nearly a 200 per cent production increase from 2016.
In 2020, Lockheed Martin plans to deliver 141 F-35s and is prepared to increase production volume year-over-year to hit peak production in 2023.
"This achievement is a testament to the readiness of the full F-35 enterprise to ramp to full-rate production and we continue to focus on improving on-time deliveries across the entire weapons system," said Greg Ulmer, Lockheed Martin vice president and general manager of the F-35 programme. "We have met our annual delivery targets three years in a row and continue to increase production rates, improve efficiencies and reduce costs. The F-35 is the most capable fighter jet in the world, and we're now delivering the 5th Generation weapon system at a cost equal to or lower than a less capable 4th Generation legacy aircraft."