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(Corrects second paragraph to show Air Force now saying F-35will fly only at RIAT air show, instead of at Farnborough showas well)
By Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force on Tuesdayconfirmed that it will send a pair of F-35A fighter jets to twoair shows in Britain this summer, joining two U.S. Marine Corpsjets and at least one British jet that are also slated toappear.
The two F-35 jets from Luke Air Force Base will be on staticdisplay at both the annual Royal International Air Tattoo andthe Farnborough air show outside London in July, and one willparticipate in so-called "heritage flights" with vintagewarplanes at RIAT, said Air Force spokeswoman Major KelleyJeter.
"We're very excited about demonstrating this capability tothe world," the Air Force's chief of staff, General Mark Welsh,said in a statement. "The F-35 represents a new way of thinkingabout data integration, weapons and tactics."
Reuters reported on Monday that the U.S. Marine Corps, AirForce and Britain would send F-35 jets to the air shows thissummer, but Air Force officials did not confirm the news untilTuesday.
British officials have declined to comment.
The F-35's planned appearances at the two UK air shows comeafter a fleetwide F-35 grounding ordered following an enginefire that prevented what would have been the fighters'international premiere at those shows two years ago.
Lockheed is developing three models of the jet - also knownas the Joint Strike Fighter, or Lightning II - with keysuppliers Northrop Grumman Corp and Britain's BAESystems Plc. Pratt & Whitney, a unit of UnitedTechnologies Corp, builds the engines.
Besides Britain, seven other countries helped funddevelopment of the jets: Norway, Australia, Canada, Denmark,Turkey, Italy and the Netherlands. All but Canada and Denmarkhave since ordered jets, as have Israel, Japan and South Korea.
Lockheed Chief Executive Marillyn Hewson told analysts onTuesday that the company expected to deliver 53 F-35 aircraft in2016, up from 45 in 2015.
She said Lockheed was expecting 59 or 60 F-35 deliveries in2017, rising to around 100 deliveries in 2018. (Additional reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Alistair Bell)