The United Kingdom has received approval to purchase its third F-35B Lightening II operational test aircraft. The UK has already invested around $2 billion in the development of the F-35, the largest amount from any participating nation.
The Netherlands, Australia, Norway, the US and Italy have also recently committed to procurements of the F-35.
Matt Maxwell, director for F-35 Low Rate Initial Production at Lockheed Martin, said “The United Kingdom’s participation in F-35 Operational Test and Evaluation, and the associated commitment to purchase F-35s in early production lots, help ensure production stability as we move from the current assembly rate of one aircraft per month to our goal of one per day.”