How Many F-35s Does Lockheed Produce Annually?

Start to finish, one F-35 is an 18-month undertaking to build. The global apparatus that makes America’s latest fifth-generation stealth fighter is a 24-hour-a-day operation. According to a report by Business Insider, around 156 planes come off the assembly line annually, accounting for all three variants made at each final assembly line in the USA, Italy, and Japan.

The Florida Air National Guard received its 500th F-35A on August 21, 2025. The jet, produced for the US Air Force, was completed by the prime contractor Lockheed Martin (LM) at its stateside plant. LM’s Fort Worth, Texas, site is Air Force Plant 4, famed for its “mile-long” main factory building. The structure was built in 1941 for Douglas B-24 Liberator production, earning the nickname “the Bomber Plant.” Today, every jet destined for the US Armed Forces is made here.

The Joint Strike Fighter

Photo: US Air Force

The F-35 Lightning II is also known as the JSF, because of the joint-service development program that created it. Since its debut into active service, it has been in incredibly high demand by the Air Force, Navy, and Marines, as well as allies in NATO and Japan. The three variants of the jet all have high commonalities that make production simpler and more streamlined than any of its predecessors. All three share the fundamental features of stealth and advanced sensor capabilities but differ in terms of conventional, short, and vertical take off capabilities.

The F-35A is the mainline model and accounts for about 90% of the 1,200+ units delivered so far. Lockheed successfully delivered its highest monthly number of 23 jets in April 2025 to date. The Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) package has been preventing a ramp up to higher numbers of production, so LM has been shipping a mix of newly manufactured and upgraded aircraft from storage. Defense and Security Monitor reports that 18% of 2025 deliveries will originate from previously constructed units.

The F-35 has been a game-changer for the other service branches of the US military, which received their first stealth aircraft, unlike the Air Force, which already had the F-22. The Navy is the only operator of the C-model so far, which differs from the primary A-model by having larger, folding wings and carrier-capable landing gear. The B-model directly replaced the Boeing AV-8B Harrier II for the Marines. Italy, Japan, Singapore, and the United Kingdom have all opted for the stealthy jump-jets to upgrade their naval air arms.

The Bomber Plant

Photo: US Navy

The Bomber Plant where US-bound variants are made, spans over 8 million square feet and employs an estimated 17,000 people. The Final Assembly and Check-Out (FACO) line is the core of the plant, where wiring, fuel cells, flight-control surfaces, and engines are installed. Side bays house radar-cross-section (RCS) test chambers, paint booths, and other systems test facilities. Once complete, aircraft roll out onto the flight line for their inspection and first flight over the lonely Texas ranchland.

Lockheed is currently aiming to produce up to 190 jets a year by increasing the Bomber Plant’s output capacity. The site itself is government-owned, although LM operates it until the last plane is completed. As you can see in the breakdown of US fighter jet output, the F-35 is the dominant model by a factor of ten or more compared to every other model in production.

It took 20 years for the Joint Strike Fighter program to complete its baseline development phase and transition into full-rate production, as reported by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The F-35 is the Department of Defense’s (DOD) most expensive weapon system program in history. 2025 marks the sixth year of a hardware and software modernization effort known as Block 4 with more modernization efforts expected to follow. The official for development efforts and the costs to maintain and operate the 2,470 planned aircraft through 2088 will exceed $2 trillion.

The International Supply Chain

Photo: US Navy

The supply chain supporting the F-35 Lightning II is globally dispersed to share both the $72 billion annual economic value among partners and build redundancy into the supply chain. Lockheed Martin, as the prime contractor, coordinates with original partner suppliers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Denmark, and Norway. It is also responsible for Foreign Military Sales (FMS) clients like Japan, Israel, South Korea, and others.

Before coming together at final assembly lines in Fort Worth, Cameri, and Nagoya, components pass through almost 1,800 vendors spread throughout 45 US states and at least ten allied nations. Fuselage structures, control surfaces, and electronic-warfare systems are constructed by BAE Systems in the United Kingdom. Leonardo houses Europe’s Final Assembly and Check-Out plant at Cameri, Italy, and fabricates wing sections.

LM says that 290,000 jobs can be attributed to the global supply chain. Wiring harnesses, panels, doors, and landing gear components are delivered from the Netherlands. Bulkheads and landing gear systems are machined by Magellan and Héroux-Devtek in Canada. Norway provides composite weapons bay doors, while Denmark molds composite skins. At least 1,900 high-tech companies and small businesses from Australia to the US are all under the program’s umbrella.

Stealth Fighters Flying Off The Shelves

More than 1,200 F-35s are already in service with 19 nations, and deliveries should climb to roughly 1,200 by late 2025. Not all F-35s cost the same, but the cost difference for each of the three versions is not public. The price tag hasn’t deterred the astonishing rapid build-up of the global fleet that includes 19 other nations’ air forces besides the US.

The United Kingdom even opted out of new Tranche-5 Eurofighter Typhoons to supplement its order of F-35s with 12 more airframes. BAE was a prime contractor on the Typhoon, but is a subcontracted partner on the F-35 multinational program. That will remain the case until the UK-Japan-Italy Global Combat Aircraft Program (GCAP), also known as the “Tempest,” ramps up production.

Below is the publicly known global fleet as compiled by F16.net:

Joint Program Office director Lieutenant General Michael Schmidt told Air & Space Forces Magazine in a February 2025 report:

“We are aggressively implementing comprehensive test plans to ensure this critical upgrade delivers cutting-edge capabilities to the warfighter. The F-35 JPO remains focused on working through known risks to deliver TR-3 combat capability in 2025. The capability will continue to be improved in future lots to ensure warfighters have what they need to win in future conflicts.”

The Pentagon recently reached a deal with Pratt & Whitney worth $2.88 billion for new F-35 engines, which Air & Space Forces relayed the Department of Defense (DOD) announced August 22. The agreement procures 141 F135 engines for Lot 18 of the F-35 program. The estimated price of each engine will be $20.4 million, which will drive up the cost of each jet. That now puts the cost of an F-35 at $101.5 million, which is significantly higher than the December 2024 contract of $11.76 billion for 145 aircraft, with individual airframe costs of $81.1 million.

Road Bumps For Lockheed

Lockheed’s “build-while-test” methodology has been attributed to the delays and cost overruns which have come under the spotlight. The controversy surrounding costs has continued despite the large turnout of planes in just a few short years. Early planes have had expensive retrofits and reports claim hundreds of unresolved flaws. Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) and Block 4 software rollouts are currently the latest iteration of updates, hoping to resolve the issues.

Below are the key specifications of the F-35A Lightning II as described by the US Air Force:

The F135 engine is developed by a multinational team led by Pratt & Whitney, although it is spearheaded by its US-based prime contractor. A Pratt & Whitney spokesperson commented on how the new engine deal will improve the program to Air & Space Forces Magazine in a statement:

“The combat-proven F135 engine delivers the power, safety, reliability, and low-observability to ensure operators can accomplish their most critical missions. The F135 is ultimately an investment in mission assurance, providing the warfighters of today and tomorrow the technological edge to fight and win. This contract will enable our team to continue providing this critical capability to help the U.S. and its allies maintain air superiority for decades to come.”