The fuselage section now in production carries the serial number MJ-4 and will eventually form part of Swiss aircraft J-6004. The associated wing is also being manufactured at Cameri, Europe’s only F-35 final assembly site.
Once work on the structural section is completed in Italy, the fuselage with its attached wings will be transported to Lockheed Martin’s plant in Fort Worth, Texas. It will then be integrated with the remaining aircraft components as Switzerland’s procurement moves through the international F-35 production network.
The first eight F-35As allocated to Switzerland are scheduled to be based at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Arkansas from mid-2027. Those U.S.-built aircraft will initially support training for Swiss pilots and ground personnel before being progressively transferred to Switzerland.
The first F-35A produced at Cameri is expected to reach Switzerland in mid-2028. J-6004, whose first major components are now being manufactured in Italy, is scheduled to arrive in Switzerland at the end of 2029.
Switzerland plans to introduce the fighter progressively at three military airfields. F-35A operations at Payerne are scheduled to start in mid-2028, followed by Meiringen in 2030 and Emmen in 2032.
Cameri is one of three locations worldwide where F-35 aircraft are manufactured, alongside Fort Worth and Nagoya in Japan. The Italian site has capacity to produce up to 20 aircraft annually and also manufactures about one-third of all F-35 wings.
The plant produces both F-35A and F-35B aircraft for the Italian armed forces and forms part of a production network involving more than 2,100 suppliers worldwide. F-35 components are manufactured across several countries before being brought together for final assembly.
Italy is one of five European partner nations in the F-35 programme alongside the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway. Other European countries also participate in production, with the aircraft’s centre fuselage manufactured in Germany and its rear fuselage produced in the United Kingdom.
Armasuisse said the production of Swiss F-35A components at Cameri reflects the programme’s international and European industrial structure. Switzerland also views geographical proximity and industrial and security cooperation with European partner states as important elements of the programme.
