The joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Alenia Aermacchi rolled out the first Italian F-35A Joint Strike Fighter built at its Cameri Final Assembly and Check-Out (FACO) facility west of Milan on March 12. The milestone came as international participation in the F-35 program gathered momentum.

The fighter rolled out at Cameri Air Base, designated AL-1, is the first F-35A assembled internationally. Destined for the Italian air force, it is undergoing additional check-out activities before an expected first flight later this year, Lockheed Martin said.

Italy’s ministry of defense owns the FACO, which the joint venture operates. The 101-acre facility currently produces wings for all F-35As, in addition to assembling the first eight conventional takeoff and landing fighters Italy will fly. It will eventually build all Italian F-35A and B models and F-35As for the Royal Netherlands Air Force. In December, the U.S. Department of Defense selected the Cameri facility as the F-35 heavy airframe maintenance, repair and overhaul facility for the European region.

Meanwhile, Australia’s first F-35A pilot, Squadron Leader Andrew Jackson, started training in late January at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Australia expects its first fighter to arrive in country by the end of 2018, when it will begin to replace F/A-18A/B Hornets at Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) bases Williamtown and Tindal.

BAE Systems Australia at Williamtown, New South Wales, has been assigned the role of regional F-35 airframe MRO for the Southern Pacific region beginning in 2018. BAE currently supports the RAAF’s Hawk MK 127 lead-in fighter trainer fleet at the Williamtown facility.

On February 9, the UK Ministry of Defense announced that its 17 (Reserve) Squadron, consisting of engineers and pilots from the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, had started operational testing of Britain’s first F-35B. The squadron is operating the fighter, designated BK-1, at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., under UK regulations.

The MOD has taken delivery of three F-35Bs; the others are based at Eglin AFB and U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C. It expects delivery of a fourth fighter early next year.