The U.S. Department of Defense has picked the Netherlands and Australia to host the European and Pacific warehouses that will store and distribute parts for the Lockheed Martin [LMT] F-35 Lightning II, the program office announced Aug. 16.
The Netherlands and Australia are slated to stand up their initial capabilities by September 2019 and October 2020, respectively.
The “U.S. services and our allies need to have the right parts delivered at the right time, and having a solid warehousing plan helps to make it happen,” said Navy Vice Adm. Mat Winter, the F-35 program executive officer.
DoD plans to make more sustainment assignments for the stealth fighter as the multi-national F-35 fleet continues to grow.
“Future assignments will include additional components, support equipment, full mission simulators, the autonomic logistics information system (ALIS), and maintenance training devices,” the program office said.