Page 56 - Australian Defence Magazine Feb-Mar 2023

56 AIRPOWER F-35A LIGHTNING II
FEBRUARY-MARCH 2023 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
is based on the production of 1,000 F-35s – the thousandth of which will be delivered in 2023 – but the current order book stands at between three and four thousand aircraft. This he says, will see Australia’s workshare value continue to grow as ongoing produc- tion contracts are awarded.
“As of today [November 2022] the Com- monwealth reports we have accumulated over $3 billion of contract awards. We haven’t yet delivered the 1,000th airplane so we’re probably around the 25-ish percentile point of the total number of airplanes we’re going to build,” he explained.
“So, how much is the total accumulation of
contract value going to achieve? It’s going to
be a number in the high single digits, if not
double digits, over the life of the program. I
can tell you, if all our international suppli-
ers are as good as Australia, our job of building airplanes would be much, much, easier.”
NIGEL PITTAWAY
“INTEGRATION OF THE F-35A’S
ADVANCED CAPABILITIES INTO AUSTRALIA’S AIR COMBAT FLEET HAS RESULTED IN IMPROVED INTEGRATED TACTICAL PROCEDURES ACROSS MISSION SETS”
This total is only for pro- duction of the F-35 airframe, work for the Pratt & Whitney F135 engine is contracted sep- arately and the sustainment of current Australian (and per- haps regional) aircraft in ad- dition to the $3 billion.
Recent successes across both production and sustain- ment include: the award of a supply chain and support sys-
sovereign maintenance and supply chain capability for the RAAF aircraft at Williamtown and Tindal.
In April 2022 RUAG Australia became the first Austra- lian company to be granted an Authority to Proceed (ATP) by the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) in Washington to establish a wheels and brakes sustainment capability in the country. The ATP approval allowed the company to become the exclusive Depot Source of Repair (DSOR) for F-35 wheels and brakes in the Asia-Pacific Region.
This translated to a contract of unspecified value with Honeywell International in August 2022, which will see Rosebank Engineering become a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) Authorised Service Centre of F-35 wheels and brakes in the Asia-Pacific.
From a powerplant sustainment perspective, TAE Aero- space announced in July 2022 that it had successfully achieved all Initial Depot Capability (IDC) requirements for the repair and overhaul of F135 engines. This has now cleared the way for TAE’s F135 MRO&U (Maintenance, Re- pair, Overhaul and Upgrade) facility in Ipswich to become the first fully operational F135 engine depot in the region.
Most recently, Northrop Grumman – manufacturer of the F-35 centre fuselage section in Palmdale California – signed a six-year agreement with Quickstep Holdings in November 2022 for the supply of components to support the global aerospace program.
“In 2012, Northrop Grumman integrated Quickstep into its global supply chain for the F-35 and it has become our largest Australian supplier for the program,” commented Christine Zeitz, General Manager of Northrop Grumman Asia Pacific. The firm orders secure Quickstep’s F-35 order book with Northrop Grumman through 2025.
LEFT: F-35As participated in Exercise Pitch Black, the RAAF’s major air combat exercise, for the first time in 2022
ABOVE: The Block 4 upgrade will permit an increase in the number of air-to-air missiles to be carried internally by the F-35 from four to six
tems contract to BAE Systems Australia; a wheels and brakes sustainment capability contract to RUAG Australia (now Rosebank Engineering); the successful establishment of an F135 engine depot by TAE Aerospace, and a further agree- ment with Quickstep Holdings for composite components.
The $80 million F-35 Air Vehicle Support Services (AVSS) contract with BAE Systems Australia was award- ed in December 2021 and covers the establishment of a
NIGEL PITTAWAY