Maryland-based Lockheed Martin is celebrating in Fort Worth Wednesday the first operational F-35 Lightning II being built for the Netherlands.
The Royal Netherlands Air Force placed an order for 37 F-35A's -- the first two were delivered in 2013 and are at Edwards Air Force Base in California as part of operational testing. This particular F-35 is off to Arizona in February for training exercises at Luke Air Force Base.
In attendance at the ceremony Wednesday in Fort Worth were Lt. Gen. Dennis Luyt, Commander, Royal Netherlands Air Force; Greg Ulmer, Lockheed Martin F-35 program vice president and general manager and various Dutch and U.S. government officials.
The F-35 Lightning II is a fifth-generation fighter jet that combines advanced stealth with speed and agility with a host of modern advances like network-enabled operations and advanced sustainment.
According to Lockheed Martin, three distinct variants of the F-35 will be replacing fighters for 13 nations.
