BAE Lockheed sign agreement for UK lifetime support of F-35 Lightning II

Posted on: Jul. 20th, 2006 || Source: baesystems.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

Farnborough, United Kingdom. - BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin announced today that they have signed an agreement that defines how F-35 support services will be provided in the UK through the life of the F-35 Lightning II program.
Bob Stevens, Lockheed Martin chairman, president and chief executive officer and Mike Turner, chief executive officer, BAE Systems, ratified an extension to their existing Teaming Agreement during the Farnborough International Show in Farnborough, England.

In the UK, Team JSF will draw on all of the resources of the F-35 industrial team. BAE Systems, as a principal team member, will take the lead in providing sustainment activities for the life of the F-35 program there, which is expected to extend through the next 40 years.

“This agreement takes our teaming agreement to a new level,” said Bob Stevens, Lockheed Martin chairman, president and chief executive officer. “It strengthens our relationship and outlines more specifically how the aircraft will be sustained in the UK for the life of the program. Enhancing how the JSF will be sustained, maintained and upgraded further increases the ability of our two nations to operate together jointly as we face real world contingencies,” said Stevens.

“The F-35 UK and US industrial bases, along with our respective governments, are now defining how the F-35 team will deliver the through-life support capabilities that the UK customer requires to support its F-35 Fleet,” said Turner. “BAE Systems has the skills and experience in place to lead the F-35 support services in the UK on behalf of Team JSF. Additionally, BAE Systems current infrastructure investments will provide a cost-effective solution to meet the requirements of our customer.”

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 Lightning jet developed by English Electric, which later became BAE Systems, in the middle 1950s.

The F-35 Lightning II will replace a wide range of existing aircraft, including AV-8B Harriers, A-10s, F-16s and F/A-18 Hornets for the US and Harrier GR.7s and Sea Harriers for the UK. The F-35 will be the most powerful single-engine fighter ever made.

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 ground testing and another will validate the aircraft’s radar signature.

BAE Systems, a principal partner in the F-35 Lightning II team, is responsible for designing, engineering and manufacturing the aft fuselage and empennage (vertical and horizontal tails) for each F-35 aircraft.

BAE Systems is also responsible for the F-35 electronic warfare systems suite, a key sensor system for F-35 pilots, and is also providing advanced affordable low-observable apertures and advanced countermeasure systems. BAE Systems is responsible for the design and delivery of key areas of the vehicle and weapon systems, in particular the fuel system, crew escape, life support system and Prognostics Health Management integration. The company also has significant work share in Autonomic Logistics, primarily on the system support side, and is involved in the Integrated Test Force, including the systems flight test and mission systems.
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