THE Joint Strike Fighter project has moved a step forward with a transatlantic delivery.
For the past two years engineers at BAE Systems at Samlesbury have been working on a component which demonstrates how the rear of the fighter will marry up to the centre fuselage.
The demonstrator, which has been made using a range of state-of-the-art technologies, has now been delivered to American partners Lockheed Martin.
"This is by far the most accurate production standard airframe module we have ever produced," said John Smith, team leader on the project.
"From design through to delivery has taken just two years and to produce it on time and to cost is a marvellous achievement."
BAE Systems, formerly British Aerospace, is part of a consortium along with US-based Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman in competition with Boeing to win the contract for the world's biggest-ever fighter plane project. The US and British governments' decision on the winning design is due in April 2001.
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