Germany’s Rheinmetall announced on 4 July 2023 that, in co-operation with US partners Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, it plans to build an “ultra-modern” factory at Weeze in the Kleve district of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) to produce fuselage sections for the F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.
The decision on where to place the factory followed a review of possible locations around Germany, Rheinmetall said.
The new plant is due to produce at least 400 F-35A fuselage sections for the air forces of Germany and other friendly nations, with production expected to begin in 2025.
Germany officially joined the F-35 programme on 14 December 2022, when it signed a letter of offer and acceptance to acquire the aircraft. The German decision to acquire the F-35 came in March 2022, when it was decided that 35 F-35As would be sought to replace the Luftwaffe’s fleet of Panavia Tornado strike aircraft.
Featuring state-of-the-art technology, the planned factory will be operated through Rheinmetall Aviation Services GmbH and will feature 60,000 m2 of floorspace, with over 400 highly skilled personnel crewing the assembly line. In addition, the plant will include logistics and warehouse facilities, research and test centres, classrooms and quality control units.
“We’re proud that our longstanding partnership with Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin and our decades-long relationship with the Bundeswehr is resulting in a genuine transfer of know-how to Germany,” Rheinmetall chief executive Armin Papperger was quoted as saying in a company press release. “And we’re very pleased to be contributing to the future viability of Germany as a technology powerhouse, and especially NRW: our longstanding corporate home. Close to the state capital in Düsseldorf, we’re going to build a factory that sets standards Europewide. We’re very grateful for the political and administrative support we experienced in Weeze during our search for a location.”
“Northrop Grumman will replicate our automated and manufacturing technologies of the Integrated Assembly Line in Weeze,” said Glenn Masukawa, vice president for the F-35 programme at Northrop Grumman. “Combined with Rheinmetall’s capabilities, our collaboration with Lockheed Martin to manufacture the centre fuselage is critical in bolstering global security. We look forward to the success of this newest F-35 facility.”
“We are pleased with Rheinmetall’s swift site selection for the upcoming F-35 centre fuselage production facility,” said Mike Shoemaker, vice president of F-35 customer programmes at Lockheed Martin. “This marks an important milestone in the German F-35 programme; this increase in capacity helps meet the growing global demand that further enables the F-35 to stay ahead of evolving threats in the 21st century landscape.
“Lockheed Martin is committed to fostering industry partnerships and creating jobs in Germany,” Shoemaker added. “We appreciate Rheinmetall’s role as an agile and flexible partner and look forward to continued collaboration.”
Peter Felstead
