APRIL 9, 2025 – Two F-35s now make up one fully operational F-35, thanks to the hard work of this group.
The F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) has been at the forefront of providing nations all over the world with a fighter platform that is highly capable in a multitude of operational settings.
With more than 1,150 aircraft delivered across the globe and one million flight hours, the F-35 Lightning II aircraft plays a vital role in global defenses and the national security of each partner nation operating the aircraft.
The F-35 JPO is committed to not only providing the warfighter with a reliable, advanced platform they can depend on, but also to maximizing taxpayer resources through continuous improvements and innovations.
In late 2022 the F-35 JPO, along with Lockheed Martin and the 388th Fighter Wing Maintenance Group, embarked on a first-of-its-kind and seemingly impossible task: transplanting the nose from one F-35A onto another.
The two F-35As involved, AF-211 and AF-27, were both out of service due to previous mishaps. AF-27 experienced an engine fire in 2014, while AF-211 experienced a nose landing gear malfunction in 2020.
Rather than writing off both jets as a loss, the F-35 JPO and the collaborating teams made a bold decision in 2022 to remove the nose from AF-27 and put it onto AF-211 to maximize savings and add back an operational aircraft to the fleet.
“The scope and complexity of this project was an exemplary demonstration of overcoming barriers and achieving a greater tier of major aircraft repair capability for an advanced tactical fighter,” said Tomas Barber, an F-35 JPO Major Mishap Repair Team engineer.
The repair took two years and five months and was $11.7 million, $2.8 million below the projected cost. The decision to repair, instead of purchasing a new F-35A, resulted in $63 million in cost savings for the program, and in turn for the Department of Defense and taxpayers.
On January 24, 2025, the now AF-17 “Frankenjet” took its first flight from Hill Air Force Base (AFB), Utah, to the Lockheed Martin facility in Fort Worth, Texas.
“A testament to the process developed here is that the rebuilt aircraft’s first flight was flown to the edges of the performance envelope, and it performed like it was fresh from the initial production line,” said Jeffrey Jensen, the F-35A variant lead. “Soon, this aircraft will be returned to full service, ready to defend this country, and at a significant cost savings to the taxpayers.”
It only took a few months for the aircraft to then return to full service. On March 26, 2025, AF-17, assigned to 4th Fighter Generation Squadron, 388th Fighter Wing, successfully ferried from Fort Worth back to Hill AFB.
With the successful ferry to Hill AFB, the “Frankenjet” is fully operational and ready to support the warfighter.
Story by Scott Swofford
F-35 Joint Program Office