Rheinmetall to Build 400 F-35 Fuselages in All-new Factory

Rheinmetall today announced plans to build up to 400 fuselage sections of the F-35A fighter jet for the German F-35 order as well as for international customers.

Production is expected to start in 2025 in the factory to be located at Weeze in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW).

The planned factory will be operated through Rheinmetall Aviation Services GmbH. It will have  60,000 square metres of floorspace.

“We are pleased with Rheinmetall's swift site selection for the upcoming F-35 center fuselage production facility. This marks an important milestone in the German F-35 program – 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,” said Mike Shoemaker, vice president of F-35 Customer Programs at Lockheed Martin.

In December 2022, Germany got the go-ahead to buy 35 F-35s for approximately $8 billion.