Defence has confirmed that the serial prefix ‘A35’ has been assigned to the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning when it enters RAAF service from 2014.
“The serial number blocks assigned to the F-35 are A35-001 and following, with the final number to be determined by future government acquisition decisions,” a Department of Defence spokesperson has confirmed to Australian Aviation.
Components for the RAAF’s first F-35 JSF, the future A35-001, dubbed AU-1 by Lockheed Martin, are now under construction. Rollout of the jet is planned for late 2013.
Further, the Alenia C-27J Spartan has been assigned the A34 serial block, with aircraft to be numbered A34-001 through to A34-010.
The Navy’s forthcoming MH-60R ‘Romeo’ Seahawk helicopters have been assigned the ‘N48’ serial range.
“The serial number blocks that have been assigned to the MH-60R are N48-001 to N48-024.”
