Lockheed Martin starts final assembly of Luftwaffe F-35A
On 21 November 2025, German State Secretary Nils Hilmer visited Lockheed Martin Fort Worth to sign the forward fuselage bulkhead of Germany’s first F-35A Lightning II. This milestone marks a major step in Germany’s shift toward fifth-generation airpower and deeper NATO integration.
The first F-35A, customer number MG-01 and future serial 35+01, is now undergoing final systems integration and will proceed to pre-delivery testing in the coming months. German pilots are already training in the US, with the first aircraft scheduled for operational handover to the Luftwaffe (GAF, German Air Force) in 2026.
German pilots will train on the Lightning II at Ebbing ANG Base/Fort Smith, Arkansas. The Luftwaffe will be the second air force to establish its presence at Ebbing’s Foreign Military Pilot Training Center. Singapore relocated its F-16s from Luke AFB, Arizona, to Ebbing, which was selected in 2023 to train pilots from Singapore, Switzerland, Poland, Germany, and Finland on F-16 and F-35 aircraft.
Beginning in 2027, the aircraft will be permanently based in Germany at Büchel Air Base with Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 33 (TLG 33), once hardened shelters and nuclear-certified infrastructure are complete. The transition from current fighters to the F-35A will conclude in 2030, when the Tornado fleet is fully decommissioned.
Credit photo: Lockheed Martin