Rollout of the first Italian F-35A Lightning II fighter aircraft planned for March 2015.

The military leadership there had hoped to assemble at least 250 fighters at the FACO, including Italy’s original plan for 131 fighters in addition to the Netherlands’ original plan for 85.

Though the final numbers are up in the air, Italy designed the FACO with significant work growth in mind. Rome is likely a top contender as the Pentagon assesses options for a heavy airframe repair in Europe; an announcement on the final selection is expected early next year.

Italy opted to forgo the “moving” production line originally envisioned for Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth facility. Rome has, however, installed 11 workstations suited for final assembly work, including four for the electronic mating and assembly system (EMAS) customized for F-35 work. These are the same EMASs used in Fort Worth. But at least five workstations were designed for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) tasks there, and some can be reconfigured should more MRO work be needed.

Italy’s design was aggressive by nature. Defense officials estimate there is $18.6 billion in economic opportunity for local business associated with MRO work, Lt. Gen. Domenico Esposito, who heads the Italian air force’s procurements, told Aviation Week last year.

Meanwhile, work on constructing Japan’s FACO in Nagoya continues; construction began in May. The first major subcomponents are slated to be loaded into Japan’s electronic mate and assembly tooling – the same tooling used for assembly at Lockheed Martin’s final assembly plant in Fort Worth – in December 2015.