Air Force’s information warfare hub seeks high-tech sensors, AI tools

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  20 septembre 2019 | International, Aérospatial

  First European-Built F-35 For The Netherlands Presented

  Being Built For Lockheed Martin By Leonardo Company The first F-35 (009), which will be based in the Netherlands from this fall, was officially presented recently in Cameri, Italy. There, the Italian company Leonardo is building the new fighter plane for manufacturer Lockheed Martin. The Italian aircraft manufacturer has a production line for wings and a final assembly line on which it assembles complete aircraft. State Secretary Barbara Visser and her colleague Mona Keijzer from Economic Affairs and Climate were present at the ceremony. "With the F-35 and later also the MQ-9 Reaper, the Air Force will get the nicest things that others are looking forward to. And it will be a wonderful year for Leeuwarden," Visser said. "In just 49 days, on 31 October, the Air Force will receive this aircraft there. It is fantastic that we work together in Europe to build the aircraft, but also to later maintain it." "A perfect example of how national security and economic affairs go together", Keijzer said. "The F-35 brings prosperity to the Netherlands in defense, economic growth and business innovation." Aircraft "009" will remain in Italy for a few more weeks, including for some test flights. "We accept the aircraft, and will then transfer it to the Air Force as quickly as possible. The less it remains with us, the sooner the user can get started with it," said Director Defense Equipment Organization, Vice Admiral Arie Jan de Waard. In Cameri, Leonardo is building the F-35A for both its own air force and 29 units for the Netherlands. With the distribution of the largest contracts some 10 years ago, it was agreed that Italy would be assembling the aircraft while The Netherlands does the engine maintenance of at least the Italian and Dutch F-35s. That happens at the Woensdrecht Logistics Center, where the European storage location for parts of the F-35 is also located. In Cameri the four main components of an F-35 are assembled. Leonardo itself builds one of those components, the wing section. Part of these is used for the on-sire final assembly process, but the vast majority goes to the Lockheed Martin factory in the United States. There, they are used to assemble aircraft for America, Australia, Denmark, Norway and South Korea, to name a few. For the Netherlands, other F-35s are currently on the production line in Italy at various stages. The next one, the F-010, is expected to also come to the Netherlands this year. The delivery of the final aircraft is now scheduled for mid-2023; The Netherlands will then have 37 aircraft. http://www.aero-news.net/getmorefromann.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=f92e55c3-7e8e-4b56-9a0d-64e829ad8c50

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  14 septembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  Lockheed: New Demand for F-16s Could Push Type Past 5,000 Mark

  Sept. 11, 2020 | By John A. Tirpak After nearly shutting down production several times, Lockheed Martin is getting a surge of orders for the F-16. With a current backlog of 130 jets, and several countries on the cusp of making orders, the company sees a possibility of surpassing the 5,000th airplane of the type, Lockheed Martin Executive Vice President of Aeronautic Michele A. Evans said Sept. 9. “We're seeing a ... resurgence of the F-16 business,” Evans said in an interview with Air Force Magazine. The company is producing Block 70 Falcons for Bahrain, Bulgaria, and Slovakia at its Greenville, S.C., plant, where it moved the F-16 line last year, freeing up space at its Fort Worth, Texas, plant for the F-35 production line. “We're up to about 4,600 aircraft delivered and can see possibly getting up to 5,000,” Evans said. Production is ramping up to four aircraft a month at Greenville, which has increased its workforce to 400 employees, she noted. It is also operating under an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity Air Force contract to supply F-16s to Morocco and Taiwan and potential future or repeat customers. The IDIQ vehicle will streamline and speed up contracting so there is a “base configuration” of aircraft to be built, “and then we propose only the unique capabilities for each country,” in the form of specific sensors or capabilities, she said. “We then just negotiate that contract with those countries.” The backlog does not include India, where Lockheed is seeking a contract for an advanced version of the F-16 to be called the F-21. Along with partner Tata, Lockheed would build 114 airplanes in India, under license, if it wins the competition. The F-16 sales could also create future F-35 customers, Evans said. “For a lot of these countries, ... as we get them capable with the F-16, we believe the next step for many ... is future procurement of the F-35.” Evans said the U.S. Air Force is seeking more operational flight program and software updates for its own F-16s, and may be interested in other improvements as well. The Air Force is “looking to advance the capability” of its Falcons, she said. The current backlog will keep the F-16 in production through 2025, Evans noted, but Lockheed would consider increasing the rate of production if demand increases. Hitting 5,000 Falcons delivered would likely take more than seven years of sustained work, she said. However, “We don't see any issues in terms of being able to meet customer demand,” she added. Editor's Note: This story was updated at 9:41 a.m. Sept. 12 to include the correct number in the F-16 backlog. https://www.airforcemag.com/lockheed-new-demand-for-f-16s-could-push-type-past-5000-mark

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  18 août 2022 | International, Aérospatial

  Boeing, Northrop Grumman Join Group Pushing 3D Printing to Small Suppliers

  The White House-backed compact is also part of an effort to make supply chains more resilient.