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BAE Systems has been awarded its first F-35 Low Rate Initial Production full funding contract worth over £25M. The contract will see the company deliver the aft fuselage and empennage (vertical and horizontal tails) as well as key mission and vehicle systems for two Conventional Take Off and Landing (CTOL) variants of F-35.

The start of Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) marks the transition from development to production of the F-35 program and is a major step towards making the F-35 available to customers worldwide.

Assembly of the aft fuselage and empennage for these first production aircraft will begin in 2008 and the first F-35 aircraft is scheduled for delivery to the U.S. Air Force in 2010.

LRIP is funded on an annual basis known as "lots." The numbers of aircraft increase in each lot, which will result in a ramp-up in production rates for the partner companies – Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems. By 2015 the program is projected to reach full rate production when the program partners will be delivering the aircraft at a rate of one a day.

BAE Systems is responsible for the design and delivery of the aft fuselage and empennage for each of the three F-35 variants, as well as key areas of the vehicle and mission systems — in particular the fuel system, crew escape, life support system and prognostics health management integration. The company also has significant work share in autonomic logistics, primarily on the support system side, and is involved in the Integrated Test Force, including the systems flight test and mission systems.

Three versions of the F-35 Lightning II are planned: a conventional take-off and landing (CTOL), a short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) and a carrier variant (CV). Each is derived from a common design, and will ensure that the F-35 JSF meets the performance needs of the US Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy, the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, and allied defence forces worldwide, while staying within strict affordability targets.

The F-35 Lightning II, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), will be the world's first and only stealthy, supersonic, multi-role fighter. The F-35 is being developed for the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps to replace the AV-8B Harrier, A-10, F-16 and the F/A-18 Hornet and for the UK's Royal Air Force and Royal Navy to replace the Harrier GR.7 and Sea Harrier.