F-35 Lightning II - Strong Global Partnership, Ready to Begin Production and Sustainment
18 Juillet 2006 - 8:30PM
PR Newswire (US)
FARNBOROUGH, England, July 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- With a new
name, its first flight on the near horizon, six aircraft in various
stages of subassembly and plans being laid for operation and
support, the Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) F-35 Lightning II, the only
5th generation fighter available on the international market, is
moving quickly into production with an eye toward long-term
sustainment. Joining many of his F-35 team members in the Media
Hall at the Farnborough International Air Show, F-35 Program
Executive Officer Rear Adm. Steven Enewold and Deputy Program
Executive Officer Brig. Gen. Charles Davis remarked on the
program's progress. "After 56 months of development, we are
encouraged by the tangible progress in the flight qualification of
our designs," said Enewold. "Most notable is the first flyable test
aircraft, but we are also demonstrating performance on the major
avionics systems in laboratories and flying test beds. There are
still many challenges, but I am encouraged by the team's
achievements." According to Davis, soon-to-be Enewold's successor
as leader of the program, "I've worked in flight test and
acquisition for 16 plus years and have never seen a program this
advanced in its development at this stage ... B-2, F-22, etc. None
were this far at this point in time. Sure we've got challenges --
and we'll have challenges we've not thought of yet -- but we're
seeing them much earlier and fixing them faster than any legacy
program I've known," said Davis. Dan Crowley, Lockheed Martin
executive vice president and F-35 program general manager, agreed
and said the aircraft possesses significant technical maturity
compared to past fighter programs at this stage of their
development. "We believe the F-35 is ready for low rate-production
because the program systems are maturing well beyond those of
legacy programs. The program's devotion to affordability,
risk-reduction and its ability to exploit new advances in digital
design tools and manufacturing technology are combining to promote
design stability, more reliable cost forecasts and adherence to
schedules," said Crowley. Tom Burbage, Lockheed Martin executive
vice president and general manager of F-35 Program Integration,
added that the U.S. and F-35 partner nations are already planning
for the F-35's long-range sustainment, one of the program's biggest
components. "This is an affordability-based program, both in terms
of aircraft price and the cost of maintaining it," Burbage said.
"We are sharply focused on sustainment as a means to an end -- and
that end in this case is an F-35 that is affordable to operate and
support. All of our partner countries will be deeply involved in
that endeavor down to the local level," he added. In a ceremony on
July 7 at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, Texas, the F-35 made its
public debut and received its name -- Lightning II -- which echoes
two great fighter aircraft of the past: the World War II-era
Lockheed P-38 Lightning and the supersonic, Mach 2, Lightning
fighter developed by English Electric in the middle 1950s. The F-35
Lightning II is a 5th Generation, supersonic stealth fighter
designed to replace a wide range of existing aircraft, including
AV-8B Harriers, A-10s, F-16s, F/A-18 Hornets and United Kingdom
Harrier GR.7s and Sea Harriers. The F-35 will be the most powerful
single-engine fighter ever made. Lockheed Martin is developing the
F-35 with its principal industrial partners, Northrop Grumman
(NYSE:NOC) and BAE Systems. Two separate, interchangeable F-35
engines are under development: the Pratt & Whitney F135 and the
GE Rolls-Royce Fighter Engine Team F136. The inaugural flight of
the first F-35, a preproduction conventional takeoff and landing
variant, is planned for later this year. Fifteen F-35s will undergo
flight test, seven will be used for static testing and another will
validate the aircraft's radar signature. Headquartered in Bethesda,
Md., Lockheed Martin employs about 135,000 people worldwide and is
principally engaged in the research, design, development,
manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology
systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2005 sales
of $37.2 billion. For additional information, visit our Web site:
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/ An F-35 electronic media kit is
available at:
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/wms/findPage.do?dsp=fec&ci=15965&rsbci=13151&fti
=0&ti=0&sc=400 DATASOURCE: Lockheed Martin Aeronautics
Company CONTACT: Lockheed Martin Chalet, Mary Jo Polidore,
+1-817-308-5553, or , or David Jewell, +1-817-366-2558, or , or
Fort Worth, John A. Smith, +1-817-763-4084, or , or John R. Kent,
+1-817-763-3980, or , all of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company
Web site: http://www.lockheedmartin.com/ Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/117281.html
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