PALMDALE, Calif., June 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Northrop
Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has marked another significant
production milestone for the F-35 Lightning II program by
delivering its 150th center fuselage to F-35 prime
contractor Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT). The center fuselage is the
core structure around which the aircraft is built.
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Designated AF-68, the center fuselage was delivered June 2. It is the 50th such unit
Northrop Grumman has delivered in the last 15 months. The company's
first 100 center fuselages took approximately eight and half years
from program start to complete.
"The delivery of AF-68 represents Northrop Grumman's steady
progress reducing the production time for the F-35 center
fuselage," said Brian Chappel, vice
president and F-35 program manager, Northrop Grumman Aerospace
Systems. "It also maintains the company's perfect record of on-time
deliveries of center fuselages from our Palmdale manufacturing center to Lockheed
Martin."
AF-68 will be integrated into a conventional takeoff and landing
variant at Lockheed Martin's F-35 final assembly facility in
Fort Worth, Texas. The jet will be
delivered to the U.S. Air Force.
Chappel attributes Northrop Grumman's steady increase in center
fuselage production rates to the company's Integrated Assembly Line
(IAL), which was opened in Palmdale in March
2011 to improve quality, reduce costs and shorten F-35
center fuselage assembly times.
"We're working closely with our customers, our suppliers and our
employees to identify small changes in our assembly practices that
will increase F-35 affordability while maintaining excellent
quality," said Chappel. "Every minute, every dollar we save on the
IAL helps reduce F-35 costs while speeding the jet's availability
to the warfighter."
The Northrop Grumman-developed IAL makes heavy use of robotics
and automation. It allows the company to produce F-35 center
fuselages with levels of engineering precision, quality and
manufacturing efficiency that are not achievable using conventional
manual production methods.
As a principal member of the Lockheed Martin-led F-35 industry
team, Northrop Grumman performs a significant share of the work
required to develop and produce all three variants of the jet. In
addition to producing the F-35 center fuselage, the company
designed and produces the aircraft's radar and other key avionics
including electro-optical and communications subsystems; develops
mission systems and mission-planning software; leads the team's
development of pilot and maintenance training system courseware;
and manages the team's use, support and maintenance of
low-observable technologies.
Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company that
provides innovative systems, products and solutions in unmanned
systems, cyber, C4ISR, and logistics and modernization to
government and commercial customers worldwide. Please visit
www.northropgrumman.com for more information.
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SOURCE Northrop Grumman Corporation