F-35 workshare 'secure' even if UK pulls the plug, says Lockheed Martin

Posted on: Jul. 19th, 2006 || Source: flightglobal.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

F-35 workshare 'secure' even if UK pulls the plug, says Lockheed Martin

Britain will keep its workshare on the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II whether the UK buys the fighter or not, the head of the programme affirmed at Farnborough yesterday.

“BAE Systems' participation has never been contingent on the UK buying 150 F-35s,” said Tom Burbage, Lockheed Martin executive vice-president and general manager F-35.

He said the company’s role extends far beyond merely manufacturing the rear fuselage and empennage of the aircraft, highlighting BAE’s design leadership of the fuel, pilot and prognostic health monitoring systems for the Joint Strike Fighter.

Burbage’s comments come as reassurance to an industry worried despite BAE’s insistence that UK industrial participation had been allocated on the basis of UK industrial capabilities and its $2 billion investment in the programme, and was entirely unrelated to any UK buy of the aircraft.

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