Lockheed Martin wins the JSF competition

Lockheed Martin wins the JSF competition





26 October 2001

Lockheed Martin's JSF design has won the richest defence contract ever. The System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase announced today is worth $200 million to the company, and the total build of 3000 plus aircraft for the United States Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps and the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force is likely to be worth $2 billion, with export potential of a similar amount.

Lockheed Martin's X-35 demonstrator on its first flight
The US Under Secretary of Defense Edward (Pete) Aldridge made the announcement this afternoon at a press conference at the Pentagon. To emphasis the UK's participation in the programme, he was accompanied by Lord (Willy) Bach, UK's Under Secretary of State and Minister for Defence He was accompanied by Secretary of the Air Force James Roche, and Secretary of the Navy Gordon England.

Relief in Fort Worth is equalled by gloom in St Louis in where the passing of fighter aircraft production must be a strong probability.

In response to a question about the possibility of sharing production Aldridge said it was for the prime contractor to decide if there was a role for Boeing, the losing contender, in a development of the programme. However, he emphasised that the 'winner take all' policy was still the Pentagon's preferred option.

Maj Gen Mike Hough the DoD's JSF programme said that the Lockheed Martin bid came out as the clear 'best value basis' winner in all aspects of the competition and .

The present award is for some $19 billion for the SDD phase to Lockheed Martin and $4.8 billion to Pratt & Whitney, the engine manufacturer, for development of the F119 engine for the programme.

Lockheed Martin will build 14 flying aircraft and 7 ground test aircraft in the course of this phase. The new aircraft will be designated F-35

In response to a question from the floor Aldridge said the cost in present dollars is $40 million for the USAF version and up to $50 million for the carrier and STOVL versions.


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Lockheed Martin, Boeing discuss JSF cooperation



12 November 2001

Boeing and Lockheed Martin today held discussions on Friday about possible cooperation in the construction of the Joint Strike Fighter, for which Lockheed Martin won an SDD contract last month against competition from Boeing.

Because of the size of the contract (the US Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps and the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force intend to buy some 3000, with the potential for a similar number in export orders) there are fears that the loser might be forced out of fighter production altogether. Boeing supporters in Congress have been pushing a joint production line to avert this. The Bush administration, which insisted that the contract was a 'winner take all' award, has said that any decision for the two companies to cooperate must be a commercial decision at the discretion of Lockheed Martin.

In a joint statement the two companies said they had had "....constructive initial discussion about ways in which Boeing could potentially add value to Lockheed Martin's Joint Strike Fighter team. Boeing presented an overview of its strengths and capabilities, and Lockheed Martin representatives agreed to consider them further, in relation to the government's cost and schedule constraints."

Both companies have committed to a further meeting, following internal evaluations of what they learned


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Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce sign JSF contract

20 December 2001

Pratt & Whitney (P&W) and Rolls-Royce have signed a contract covering Rolls-Royce's short take-off/vertical landing (STOVL) development work for the F135 propulsion system for the Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft.



The contract was signed by Walter Bylciw, Executive Vice President of Military Engines at P&W, and by Andy Stevens, Managing Director of Rolls-Royce Defence (Europe)
The contract, worth approximately $1 billion to Rolls-Royce over ten years, is for the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase of the program. It covers design and development work on the innovative LiftFan, the roll posts, the three bearing swivel duct and nozzle system that together provide the STOVL capability for the JSF. P&W has prime contractor responsibility for the development of the propulsion and lift system for the JSF under the terms of a $4.8 billion contract awarded by the US Department of Defense. Activities will include the design and manufacturing of ground test engines, as well as subsequent production and support of flight test engines.

The two companies also signed a teaming agreement for the F135 propulsion system, formalising the relationship between the two companies. The teaming agreement continues Rolls-Royce's responsibility in providing P&W with design and development leadership for major F135 STOVL components.

Bylciw said, "Global partnerships strengthen the JSF programme overall, and we look forward to Rolls-Royce joining us in delivering the most capable and mature propulsion system, on time and on budget, to our customer.''

"As a leading aero engine manufacturer for military aircraft, Rolls-Royce is ideally positioned to deliver the high technology required by the JSF Joint Programme Office to match their operational requirements,'' said Stevens. "Rolls-Royce is able to bring the technology and expertise it has gained as the manufacturer of the Pegasus engine for the AV-8B Harrier, which has been successful in multiple theatres and remains the world's only operational and combat-proven STOVL aircraft.''

Rolls-Royce involvement in JSF STOVL development will be led and programme managed by its Bristol, UK site and supported by its Indianapolis, US facility. Approximately 900 Rolls-Royce jobs, split between the US and UK, will be sustained by JSF during the SDD contract.

P&W's F135 propulsion system is expected to enter production in 2007. It will power all JSF aircraft variants, conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL), carrier variant (CV), and short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL). Up to 6,000 JSF aircraft are expected to be produced over the life of the program.


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