Germany’s Rheinmetall selects site to start making ‘at least’ 400 F-35A fuselages

WASHINGTON — German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall plans to begin production at a new facility in 2025 to build “at least 400” F-35A center fuselages, the company stated in a press release, a move that F-35 builder Lockheed Martin previously said will deepen technology sharing with the European industrial base. 

Located in Weeze in western Germany, the facility will service German jets as well as those of “other friendly nations,” according to the release. After Turkey, a previous center fuselage producer, was booted off the F-35 program in 2019, center fuselage manufacturing has been a pinch point for F-35 production that an expert told Breaking Defense has sent the Pentagon searching for an alternative. 

“Center fuselage production is the limiting factor,” JJ Gertler, a senior analyst with the Teal Group, said in an email. Since Turkey’s exit, Northrop Grumman has been solely responsible for center fuselage production for all three F-35 variants. But now with Rheinmetall joining the mix to co-produce fuselages for the F-35A, the program may be able to up its annual output.

“The number of orders for F-35 now can support a production rate of around 175 a year. They are limited to 156 because that’s all the center fuselages Northrop can produce,” said Gertler. “The [F-35 Joint Program Office] has been looking for more production for some time, and it sounds like this is the answer to ultimately replacing Turkey.”

Northrop is partnered with Rheinmetall on the project, and Glenn Masukawa, vice president for that company’s F-35 program, said in the release that Northrop “will replicate our automated and manufacturing techno­logies of the Integrated Assembly Line in Weeze,” essentially transferring the company’s current production tech to the German manufacturer as it continues to churn out fuselages from its Palmdale, Calif., facility. 

Lockheed plans to hit a goal of 156 annual deliveries starting in 2025, but according to a previous report in Defense One, the addition of Rheinmetall could enable the program to reach up to 165 per year in the future if needed. 

That added capacity may be desired if even more international customers sign up for F-35 deliveries or current customers increase their buys. Just last week, the US State Department cleared a $5.6 billion F-35 deal for the Czech Republic, with Greece also waiting for its purchases of the jet to be approved. And, in April, Romanian officials announced that they intend to buy the fighter as well. 

In the US, Lockheed is currently aiming to lock down the next F-35 production agreement with the Pentagon by the end of this year, the head of the company’s aeronautics division said in a previous interview with Breaking Defense, which could coincide with the aerospace giant finishing production of its 1,000th Joint Strike Fighter.