BAE Systems Awarded First F-35 Production Contract

BAE Systems, BAE Systems has been awarded its first F-35 Low Rate Initial Production full funding contract worth over £25M. 
 
The contract will see the company deliver the aft fuselage and empennage (vertical and horizontal tails) as well as key mission and vehicle systems for two Conventional Take Off and Landing (CTOL) variants of F-35. 
 
“This is a significant milestone for BAE Systems and for the F-35 team. The start of Low Rate Initial Production marks the transition from development to production of the F-35 programme and is a major step towards making the F-35 available to customers worldwide.” said Tom Fillingham, Managing Director F-35 Lightning II, BAE Systems. 
 
“We will start assembly of the aft fuselage and empennage for these first production aircraft in 2008 and the first F-35 aircraft is scheduled for delivery to the U.S. Air Force in 2010.” 
 
Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) is funded on an annual basis known as ‘lots’. The numbers of aircraft increase in each ‘lot’, which will result in a ramp-up in production rates for the partner companies – Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems. By 2015 the programme is projected to reach Full Rate Production (FRP) when the programme partners will deliver the aircraft at a rate of one a day. 
 
Tom added: “This LRIP contract award comes on the back of our continued deliveries in the System Development and Demonstration phase of the programme. BAE Systems is now manufacturing all three F-35 variants concurrently and we are starting assembly of a new aircraft set at a rate of one a month – unprecedented for this phase of a development programme. This puts us in an excellent position to transition into the LRIP phase of the programme smoothly.” 
 
BAE Systems is responsible for the design and delivery of the aft fuselage and empennage for each of the three F-35 variants, as well as key areas of the vehicle and mission 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 support system side, and is involved in the Integrated Test Force, including the systems flight test and mission systems. 
 
Three versions of the F-35 Lightning II are planned: a conventional take-off and landing (CTOL), a short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) and a carrier variant (CV). Each is derived from a common design, and will ensure that the F-35 JSF meets the performance needs of the US Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy, the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, and allied defence forces worldwide, while staying within strict affordability targets. 
 
The F-35 Lightning II, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), will be the world’s first and only stealthy, supersonic, multi-role fighter. The F-35 is being developed for the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps to replace the AV-8B Harrier, A-10, F-16 and the F/A-18 Hornet and for the UK’s Royal Air Force and Royal Navy to replace the Harrier GR.7 and Sea Harrier. 
 
BAE Systems is the premier global defence and aerospace company delivering a full range of products and services for air, land and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, information technology solutions and customer support services. With 96,000 employees worldwide, BAE Systems' sales exceeded £15 billion (US $27 billion) in 2006 on a pro forma basis, assuming BAE Systems had owned Armor Holdings Inc for the whole of 2006.