DEFENCE manufacturer BAE Systems has unveiled plans to produce parts for one of the world's elite fighter jets at a rate of one-a-day at its Lancashire base.
The defence giant handed over the first aft fuselage for the F-35 Lightning II plane to its US-based partner contractor Lockheed Martin at a special ceremony at BAE's base in Samlesbury, near Preston on Tuesday.
Managing director Tom Fillingham, of the F-35 programme for BAE, said that its plans to expand the base in Samlesbury were vital to meet its targets of producing the aft fuselages, the back end of the jet and other parts for the US-UK programme at such a rate within the next few years.
The F-35 programme could be worth up to =A312.1 billion to BAE. The company has more than 1,400 people working directly on the programme, including hundreds at its sites in Lancashire.
Read more and watch a video of the F-35 demonstrator taking to the skies here: