×

Maintenance Repair & Overhaul Space Air Cargo

Home- Stories

Pentagon Awards Lockheed Martin US$1.28B F-35 Sustainment Deal

Jay Menon - : Jan 6, 2021 - : 6:40 pm

Lockheed Martin has been awarded a US$1.28 billion Undefinitised Contract Action (UCA) by the F-35 Joint Program office to support operations and sustainment of the global F-35 fleet through June 30, 2021.

“This contract ensures that the F-35s remain ready to fly and accomplish the warfighter’s mission,” said Bill Brotherton, Lockheed Martin F-35 program acting vice president and general manager.

“We continue to see improvements in readiness and cost, and as the fleet grows, so does the opportunity for the joint government and industry team to collaborate, realizing even more long-term benefits.”

The UCA provides initial critical sustainment activities for a worldwide fleet while negotiations continue on a long-term contract to build enterprise capacity and affordability to support the future fleet of more than 3,000 F-35 aircraft. The UCA funds industry sustainment experts supporting operations worldwide, individual bases, depot maintenance, pilot and maintainer training, and sustainment engineering across the globe. It also covers fleet-wide data analytics and supply chain management for part repair and replenishment to enhance overall supply availability.

The F-35 Joint Program Office, together with each U.S. Service, international operators and the F-35 industry team, leads F-35 sustainment and the Global Support Solution.

Lockheed Martin and industry teammates BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman provide critical sustainment support for over 600 aircraft in key areas such as training, base operations, repairs, global supply, and sustainment support to F-35 customers. While many think of sustainment as all of the activity after aircraft delivery, it actually begins the moment a requirement is written and design starts. The fifth generation F-35 is designed and produced with mission readiness and the warfighter’s success in mind.

The F-35’s reliability continues to improve, and newer production aircraft are averaging greater than 70 per cent mission capable rates, with some operational squadrons consistently near 75 per cent. Cost per flight hour has decreased by more than 40 per cent during the last five years.

To further improve readiness and cost stability, the enterprise is conducting supply chain competitions and building supply capacity, synchronizing spare buys, improving parts reliability and maintainability, implementing advanced analytics tools, accelerating modifications of earlier aircraft, and supporting the stand-up of government-led regional warehouses and repair depots.

More than 600 F-35 aircraft have been delivered and are operating from 26 bases around the globe. More than 1,200 pilots and 10,000 maintainers have been trained, and the F-35 fleet has surpassed more than 345,000 cumulative flight hours.

MORE NEWS

Headquartered in Singapore with reporters spread across all major regions, GBP Aerospace & Defence is a leading media house that publishes three publications that serve the aerospace and defence sector - Asian Defence Technology, Asian Airlines & Aerospace and Daily News. Known industry-wide for quality journalism, GBP Aerospace & Defence is present at more international tradeshows and exhibitions than any other competing publication in the region.
For over three decades, our award-winning team of reporters has been producing top-notch content to help readers stay abreast of the latest developements in the field of commercial aviation, MRO, defence, and Space.

Popular Posts

Copyright 2024. GBP. All Rights Reserved.

Home Defence & Security Space Commercial Aviation Maintence Repair & Overhaul Daily News Events About Us

×