Page 8 - Australian Defence Magazine Nov 2018

NEWS REVIEW
INDUSTRY UPDATE
Latest F-35 deal marred by crash
“This agreement marks a significant step forward for the F-35 program as we continue to increase production, reduce costs and deliver transformational capa- bilities to our men and women in uni- form,” Greg Ulmer, F-35 Vice President and General Manager, said. “As produc- tion ramps up, and we implement addi- tional cost savings initiatives, we are on track to reduce the cost of the F-35A to $80 million by 2020, which is equal to or less than legacy aircraft, while providing a major leap in capability.”
Unfortunately the news of the cost re- duction came on the same day that an F- 35B belonging to Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 came down and burst into flames near Beaufort, South Carolina. The pilot ejected safely. The cause of the crash is thought to be a faulty fuel tube at the time of publication.
The crash is the first such incident for the F-35 program.
Australia is procuring a different variant of the aircraft, the F-35A, but the extent to which the crash in South Carolina will im- pact Australian jets currently at Luke Air Force Base, Utah, remains unclear.
Australia’s first two F-35s are due to arrive at RAAF Williamtown in December.
THE US Department of Defense and Lock- heed Martin finalized an US$11.5 billion contract for 141 F-35 aircraft at the lowest per aircraft price in program history on the same day that an F-35B crashed in South Carolina.
The new F-35A unit price is $89.2 mil- lion, which is a 5.4 per cent reduction from the previous $94.3 million cost for an F- 35A in Low-Rate Initial Production Lot 10 (LRIP 10).
The new F-35B unit cost has been lowered
5.7 per cent to $115.5 million, and the F-35C is down 11.1 per cent to $107.7 million.
“Driving down cost is critical to the suc- cess of this program,” Vice Admiral Mat Winter, F-35 Program Executive Officer, said. “We are delivering on our commitment to get the best price for taxpayers and warf- ighters. This agreement for the next lot of F-35s represents a fair deal for the US Gov- ernment, our international partnership and industry. We remain focused on aggressively reducing F-35 cost and delivering best value.”
F-35 testing reveals potential for increased service life
THE F-35 Joint Program Office and Lock- heed Martin have completed F-35 static, drop test, and durability testing and early results indicate a potential for an increased service life certification for the F-35A variant.
The rigorous testing supports validation of the airframe’s strength and resilience to perform in the demanding environments it will experience throughout its operational lifetime. The final results will support fleet management and maintenance forecasting for decades of operations.
Ground testing includes a full-scale durability airframe of all three variants, which were loaded in unique test rigs and laboratories to simulate ground and flight load conditions during fleet opera- tions. The F-35 aircraft’s service lifetime is 8,000 hours, and each test airframe is required to complete two life-times of testing, or 16,000 hours.
The F-35A vastly exceeded the require- ment by completing three full life times of testing, or a simulated 24,000 hours, which
gives the program confidence in a potential service-life increase.
“The transformational F-35 pushes the boundaries of engineering and physics with supersonic speed, agility, high attitude and angle of attack, weapons capacity, verti- cal landings, carrier operations and much more,” Greg Ulmer, Lockheed Martin’s vice president and general manager of the F-35 program, said. “Durability testing gives the
men and women who fly the F-35 great confidence in the air- craft’s performance today and for decades to come.”
“We look forward to analys- ing the results and bringing forward the data to potential- ly extend the aircraft’s lifetime certification even further,” Ulmer said. “Already certified for one of the longest lifetimes of any fighter, an increase would greatly reduce future costs for all F-35 customers.”
The F-35A airframe completed its testing at BAE Systems in Brough, England and the F-35B and C variants were tested by Lock- heed Martin in Fort Worth, Texas. All vari- ants undergo final teardown inspections at the National Institute for Aviation Research in Wichita, Kansas.
News of frame durability will come as good news following debate around pricing and availability issues in the global fleet.
8 | November 2018 | www.australiandefence.com.au
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