News

2020-02-02

U.S. Awards Lockheed Martin F-35 Sustainment Contract

The F-35 Joint Programme Office of the U.S. Department of Defense awarded the Lockheed Martin industry team a US$1.9 billion contract last month to support operations and sustainment of the global F-35 fleet, while improving mission readiness and reducing costs.

The annual contract will fund critical sustainment activities for the aircraft currently in the fleet and builds enterprise capacity to support the future fleet of more than 3,000 F-35 aircraft. This includes industry sustainment experts supporting base and depot maintenance, pilot and maintainer training, and sustaining engineering across the globe. It also covers fleet-wide data analytics and supply chain management for part repair and replenishment to enhance overall supply availability for the fleet.

“The F-35 continues to deliver exceptional capabilities to the field, and this contract ensures F-35s are mission ready to meet warfighter needs,” said Greg Ulmer, Lockheed Martin vice president and general manager of the F-35 programme. “The joint government and industry team continues to make significant progress improving readiness rates and reducing sustainment costs. In 2020, we will continue to optimise and advance the sustainment system. We are confident F-35 sustainment costs will be equal to or less than legacy jets.”

The F-35 Joint Programme Office, together with each U.S. service, international operator and the F-35 industry team, leads F-35 sustainment and the Global Support Solution. The 2020 annualised sustainment contract will cover industry sustainment activities through December 31.

Reliable Performance

Lockheed Martin’s sustainment cost per aircraft per year has decreased for four consecutive years, and more than 35 per cent since 2015.

The F-35’s reliability continues to improve, and the global fleet is averaging greater than 65 per cent mission capable rates, with operational squadrons consistently performing near 75 per cent.

The F-35 enterprise continues to pursue 80 per cent mission capable rates in the near term and reduce the F-35 Cost Per Flight Hour to US$25,000 by 2025, which is equal to or less than the cost to sustain legacy, less capable aircraft.

To meet these goals, the enterprise is conducting supply chain competitions and building supply capacity, synchronising spare buys, improving parts reliability and maintainability, implementing advanced analytics tools, accelerating modifications of earlier aircraft, and supporting the stand-up of government-led regional warehouses and repair depots.

Improving Readiness

Lockheed Martin delivered the 134th F-35 aircraft in 2019, exceeding the joint government and industry 2019 delivery goal of 131 aircraft. It is a Short Takeoff and Vertical Landing (STOVL) model for the United States Marine Corps. In 2019, deliveries included 81 F-35s for the U.S., 30 for international partner nations and 23 for Foreign Military Sales customers.

The 134 deliveries represent a 47 per cent increase from 2018 and nearly a 200 per cent production increase from 2016. The company plans to deliver 141 F-35s in 2020 and is prepared to increase production volume year-over-year to hit peak production in 2023.

“This achievement is a testament to the readiness of the full F-35 enterprise to ramp to full-rate production and we continue to focus on improving on-time deliveries across the entire weapons system,” said Ulmer. “We have met our annual delivery targets three years in a row and continue to increase production rates, improve efficiencies and reduce costs. The F-35 is the most capable fighter jet in the world, and we’re now delivering the 5th Generation weapon system at a cost equal to or lower than a less capable 4th Generation legacy aircraft.”

Using lessons learned, process efficiencies, production automation, facility and tooling upgrades, supply chain initiatives and more – the F-35 enterprise continues to significantly improve efficiency and reduce costs. The price of an F-35A is now US$77.9M, meeting the US$80M goal a year earlier than planned.

With more than 490 aircraft operating from 21 bases around the globe, the F-35 plays a critical role in today’s global security environment. Today, 975 pilots and 8,585 maintainers are trained, and the F-35 fleet has surpassed more than 240,000 cumulative flight hours. Eight nations have F-35s operating from a base on their home soil, eight services have declared Initial Operating Capability and four services have employed F-35s in combat operations.

In addition to strengthening global security and partnerships, the F-35 provides economic stability to the U.S. and international partners by creating jobs, commerce and security, and contributing to the global trade balance. Thousands of men and women in the U.S. and around the world build the F-35. With more than 1,400 suppliers in 47 states and Puerto Rico, the F-35 Programme supports more than 220,000 jobs.

The supersonic, multi-role F-35 represents a quantum leap in air dominance capability with enhanced lethality and survivability in hostile, anti-access airspace environments. It combines 5th Generation fighter aircraft characteristics — advanced stealth, integrated avionics, sensor fusion and superior logistics support — with one of the most powerful and comprehensive integrated sensor packages of any fighter aircraft in history. The F-35’s advanced stealth allows pilots to penetrate areas without being detected by radars that legacy fighters cannot evade.

Reference Text/Photo:www.lockheedmartin.com

Comments () Views (11578 ) Print

Send To Friend