Non-Subscriber Extract
Lockheed Martin tops Boeing to build Joint Strike Fighter
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| 26 October 2001 |
Michael Sirak, US Staff Reporter, JDW
The US Department of Defense (DoD) on 26 October selected a Lockheed Martin-led team to build the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) for the US armed forces, UK Ministry of Defence, and other possible international partners. The team, which includes BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman, beat out a competing bid by Boeing for what is considered the largest programme in the DoD's history--expected to be worth at least $200 billion--and possibly the last US manned fighter aircraft project.
The Lockheed Martin team will begin on 1 November a 126-month system development and demonstration (SDD) phase, which has an estimated total value of approximately $19 billion. This will be followed by a lucrative multi-year production run valued at up to $200 billion for approximately 3,000 aircraft for the US Air Force (USAF), US Marine Corps (USMC), US Navy (USN), UK Royal Air Force (RAF) and UK Navy (RN). With foreign exports, the total number of JSF aircraft built could approach 6,000 units and increase greatly the programme's total value.
In addition to the UK, Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Turkey intend to procure the aircraft. Israel and Singapore are also interested in acquiring the aircraft through the DoD's foreign military sales programme.
Secretary of the Air Force James Roche, who made the final decision, said the Lockheed Martin consortium "emerged as the clear winner" based on the "strengths, weaknesses and the degrees of risk" associated with its bid.
Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Pete Aldridge said the DoD decided to stay with the 'winner-take-all' approach in determining who would build the aircraft. However, he noted, the extent to which Lockheed Martin chooses to engage Boeing is Lockheed's decision.
For Boeing, the loss is expected to knock it out of the manned fighter business over the long-term. The company may evolve into the principle provider of larger aircraft to the DoD. For Lockheed Martin, the win cements it as the premier US fighter aircraft manufacturer and preserves the growth potential of its aeronautics sector.
The JSF will be produced in three variants: conventional take-off and landing (CTOL); carrier (CV); and short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL). Lockheed Martin chose an innovative shaft-driven lift fan for its STOVL variant, while Boeing opted for more traditional direct-lift STOVL propulsion.
The Lockheed Martin design is based on its X-35 concept demonstrator aircraft. Lockheed Martin's JSF Executive Vice President and General Manager Tom Burbage said the SDD aircraft will not differ greatly from the concept demonstrator. "One of the real significant advantages that we think we had is the fact that our design for the concept demonstrator aircraft is almost identical to the airplane we are proposing for the next phase," he told Jane's Defence Weekly. Burbage said the team's goal is to manufacture a JSF airplane in five months.
Both Pratt & Whitney and GE will provide engines for the JSF aircraft. Both company's engines are being designed to be physically and functionally interchangeable with any JSF variant. "We want to be able to pull a Pratt & Whitney engine out of the airplane and put a GE engine back in... and have the airplane function just like it did with the other engine," said Dan Kunec, the DoD's JSF Propulsion Programme Manager. Kunec told JDW that the DoD intends to compete the engine contracts on a continual basis, perhaps annually, for the duration of the JSF production phase.
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| Lockheed X-35B (Source: Lockheed) |
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Boeing X-32B (Source: Boeing) |