July 17, 2024 | International, Aerospace
December 10, 2019 | International, Aerospace
Lockheed Looks To More F-35 Development Work
Michael Bruno
Lockheed Martin is looking to new government interest in follow-on modernization (FOM) upgrades of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to drive future business returns on top of what could be ballooning sustainment revenue, according to the company's chief financial officer (CFO).
CFO Ken Possenriede told a Credit Suisse investor conference this month that FOM and sustainment will drive business growth out of the F-35 for Lockheed and its shareholders as production returns shrink with unit price reductions and maturing production.
“We ended the SDD [system design and development] program, but the customer still is looking at capability that they want,” he told financial analysts and investors. “So you'll see growth there and in sustainment.”
Lockheed Martin expects to deliver 131 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters this year, compared with 91 in 2018, and should deliver 140 in 2020. Over the next few years, Lockheed expects total international demand for the F-35 to drive production to about 175 a year, most of which will be built in Fort Worth, but with some finished in Japan or Italy.
But because the price per aircraft has been reduced 13% over low-rate production lots 11-14, to below $80 million per jet for the A variant, that part of the program–“the lion's share” now–is increasingly becoming minimized as a moneymaker.
“The reduction in price has been faster than the ramp-up in quantity,” Possenriede said. “So it's going to be, at least in the short term, [that] you'll probably see modest growth in production revenue.”
Lockheed won the original $19 billion SDD contract in 2001, but spending on the FOM, also called Block 4 improvements, could reach an additional $16 billion under Pentagon plans discussed last year.
At the same time, the F-35 fleet is expected to more than double from about 400 aircraft to 1,000 in the next couple of years.
“You'll have more sparing, some more repairing,” he said. “But then you'll see a larger influx of the modification work that will get done, and you'll see sustainment over the next couple of years double. So that will be a faster piece of the revenue.”
The company is about one-third complete in standing up repair base facilities now.
Lockheed also continues to promote a performance-based logistics contract for the F-35, the CFO noted.
“We provided a white paper, call it an unsolicited proposal, that basically commits to the 80% availability and it commits to the $25,000 per flight hour, which we think is the right number to get to,” he said Dec. 5.
The F-35 currently costs $35,000 a flight hour.
https://aviationweek.com/defense/lockheed-looks-more-f-35-development-work
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November 13, 2019 | International, Aerospace
Leonardo invests in ‘fully electric’ Skydweller drone
By: Tom Kington ROME — Leonardo will be the leading investor in a new solar-powered drone capable of carrying an 800-pound payload and which will fly for the first time in 2021, the Italian defense company said Monday. The Skydweller drone, initially developed by an American-Spanish startup involving Northrop Grumman experts, will be “the world's first fully electric unmanned aircraft capable of carrying large payloads with unlimited range and ultra-persistent endurance,” the firm said. Skydweller will also be free from the U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations, with Leonardo acting as the “main industrial partner,” a spokesman said, as well as prime contractor for sales to Italy, the U.K., Poland and NATO. The system will comply with European export laws and will not be subject to ITAR, allowing “the aircraft to satisfy government and commercial needs around the world,” Leonardo said. Skydweller is based on the Solar Impulse 2, a solar-powered aircraft developed by Swiss engineers that flew around the world in 17 flights during 2015 and 2016. Developers see the Skydweller as pushing the limits for payloads for solar flight, while operating at medium altitudes — lower than the high altitudes for which such aircraft have usually been designed, and allowing onboard sensors and transmitters to operate at closer range to the ground. Aimed at civil and military customers, the drone is expected to offer surveillance, communications and navigation capabilities, and be interoperable with existing air bases. Development and construction of the new aircraft is to take place in Spain's Castilla-La Mancha region. Leonardo plans to create a dedicated engineering team following its entry into the program as an investor, the firm said. The first phase of the program will involve converting the manned Solar Impulse 2 into an optionally piloted vehicle with autonomous flights planned for next year. https://www.defensenews.com/unmanned/2019/11/12/leonardo-invests-in-fully-electric-skydweller-drone/
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June 16, 2024 | International, Security
Pakistani Hackers Use DISGOMOJI Malware in Indian Government Cyber Attacks
Pakistan-based UTA0137's cyber espionage campaign targeting Indian government with DISGOMOJI malware, exploiting DirtyPipe and Firefox scam.