First F-35 flight may be Monday

Posted on: Dec. 6th, 2006 || Source: Reuters | E-mail Article | Print Article

First F-35 flight may be Monday

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the costliest weapons procurement project ever, is set to make its maiden test flight next week, a U.S. general running the project said on Tuesday.

"I am optimistic that we will see the airplane fly as early as Monday" at Lockheed Martin Corp.'s Fort Worth, Texas, test site, Marine Brig. Gen. David Heinz, the Pentagon program office's deputy director, told the Reuters Aerospace and Defense Summit in Washington, D.C.

At a projected $276.5 billion, the planned family of radar-evading warplanes represents the Pentagon's priciest planned purchase -- more than 2,400 aircraft by 2027 for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps.

Three single-engine F-35 models are to replace aging F-16s, F/A-18 Hornets and a range of other fighter and strike aircraft for the United States and its friends over the next 30 years.

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