F-35A - Made in Italy

F-35 In Italy: First Flight Outside US For Lockheed Martin's $1.5 Trillion Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

By Christopher Harress @Charress c.harress@ibtimes.com on September 08 2015 4:23 PM EDT

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The F-35 jet fighter made its first flight Monday outside the U.S. at a military base in Italy. Reuters

The American-built F-35 fighter jet, the country’s most expensive defense procurement project at a cost of more than $1.5 trillion, made its first flight outside the U.S. Monday at an air base in Italy, a defense news report said. The one-hour, 22-minute flight of the Lockheed Martin-designed Joint Strike Fighter took place without any incidents and was a month ahead of schedule.

The much maligned aircraft rolled off the final assembly line and onto the tarmac at the Cameri Air Base, which is owned by the Italian government and operated by Italy’s Alenia Aermacchi, an Italian aerospace company, and Lockheed Martin. The base is the only facility outside the U.S. where the F-35 will be assembled and maintained.

The short flight was likely a confidence booster to the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin after years of problems with software, fuel tanks and various other components.

“As expected, the jet performed exceptionally well and without any surprises,” said Lockheed Martin test pilot Bill “Gigs” Gigliotti, who flew the aircraft.