Summary Japan produced US F-15s and F-16s, and is producing F-35s under license. Italy operates an F-35 assembly facility for European partners, including assembling F-35Bs. Israel modifies F-35As with domestic technology and was permitted unique modifications by the US.
While most US-origin fighter jets are produced in facilities in the United States, some are produced (or assembled) under license in other countries. The US F-16s, F-15s, and F/A-18s are only produced in the US, but there are two international final assembly and check-out facilities for the F-35 Lightning II . Elsewhere, China and India have historically produced hundreds of Soviet and Russian fighter jets under license (and India is debating producing more Russian Su-30s under license).
Japan locally produces US fighter jets Japan is probably the best example of a country that has produced US fighter jets under license. The Japanese Air Force combat jet fleet comprises F-16 Fighting Falcons, F-15 Eagles, and F-35 Lightning IIs, all built in Japan under license. Japan has a fleet of F-15 Eagles designated F-15J and F-15DJ (the training variant).
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd, produced 213 of these starting from 1981. Mitsubishi also produced Japan's fleet of 98 F-16s (locally designated F-2A/F-2Bs), the first of which was delivered in 2000. Additionally, Mitsubishi produced 140 now-retired F-4 Phantom IIs under license.
Japan's combat fleet (per FlightGlobal ) Quantity: Original Aircraft: F-2A/F-2B: 86 F-16 Fighting Falcon F-15J/F-15DJ: 199 F-15 Eagle F-35A: 36 1+109 on order Today, Japan's Nagoya is home to one of only two final assembly and check-out facilities for the F-35A outside the United States. Japan is assembling its future fleet of F-35A 105 fifth-generation fighter jets (around 40 have been produced so far). Japan's fleet of F-35Bs is being built in the United States.
China may be able to produce around 240 fighter jets annually made up of J-10s, J-16, and J-20s. F-35 Lightning IIs assembled in Italy Italy's Cameri Final Assembly and Check Out facility is the only such facility for the F-35A program in Europe. Some European export customers like Switzerland are assembling their own F-35As - but these need to be completed at Leonardo's facility at Cameri.
Italy is reportedly considering restoring its order for F-35s to its original quota of 131 jets (it had been trimmed to 90 jets). The British are also considering purchasing 138 F-35s eventually. The first Italian F-35A rolled off the Cameri Final Assembly and Check Out facility and was delivered to the Italian Air Force in 2015.
According to the Italian defense contractor, Leonardo , the facility employs a highly skilled workforce of over 750 people (the facility also produces wings for the fighter jet). F-35 Final Assembly and Check-Out Facility: F-35 variants Fort Worth, Texas: F-35A, F-35B, F-35C Cameri, Italy: F-35A, F-35B Nagoya, Japan: F-35A Italy's Cameri facility is also assembling the F-35s for some other (but not all) European F-35 customers. The Czech, Dutch, and Belgian F-35As are being built there, while some other European countries like Germany, Poland, and Denmark have opted for their F-35As to be built at Fort Worth in the United States.
The British are only procuring F-35Bs for the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, which are being produced in the United States. That said, many of the parts in the F-35 jets are British-built (e.g.
, the ejector seat). Lockheed Martin states , “ The fingerprints of British ingenuity can be found on dozens of the aircraft's key components. BAE Systems, GE Aviation, Martin-Baker, SELEX, Cobham, Ultra Electronics, UTC Actuation Systems, and Rolls-Royce are just a few of the more than 100 U.
K.-based suppliers for the program .” Various other European countries produce parts for the F-35 program.
For example, Norway's Kongsberg produces parts for around 100 F-35 fighter jets annually, which is expected to increase to 150 annually. While Japan only assembles its F-35A jets, Italy also assembles its F-35B jets (it plans to procure 30 F-35Bs for its Navy). This means that Italy is the only place outside the United States where the F-35B is assembled.
AIN reported the first F-35B rolled out at the Cameri Final Assembly and Check Out facility in May 2017. The F-35B is the naval STOVL variant designed to operate off amphibious assault ships and small aircraft carriers. Russian combat aircraft production rates seem to be sufficient to sustain war losses at the rates so far seen.
Israel modifies US-built combat aircraft Israel's F-35As (locally called the Adir) are different from any other F-35A fleet as they are modified to meet Israel's specific needs and security requirements. Israeli F-35As are known to include domestically produced countermeasures, sensors, and data processing capabilities. Israel is believed to be the only country in the US that has permitted the modification of the F-35.
Israeli combat jet fleet (per FlightGlobal ) F-15A/C/I 66 F-16C/I 175 F-35I 39 (36 on order) The Air and Space Forces Magazine states, " Initially, the US refused to allow Israeli modifications to the F-35. The compromise reached involved not changing anything inside the aircraft, but allowing the Israelis to add capabilities on top of the existing infrastructure. State-run Israel Aerospace Industries, for example, is working on a C4I overlay for the F-35, with Lockheed Martin.
" The Israeli F-35s are likely to be modified in various ways, including for ground attack and to carry Israeli-made weapons. Israel once attempted to produce its own fighter jet, the IAI Lavi (similar to the F-16); while this jet was canceled, Israel has used much of the technology it acquired to modify US-made fighter jets..
