FORT WORTH, Texas, Jan. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The F-35 Joint
Program Office awarded the Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) industry
team a $1.28 billion Undefinitized
Contract Action (UCA) to support operations and sustainment of the
global F-35 fleet through June 30,
2021.
"This contract ensures F-35s remain ready to fly and accomplish the
warfighter's mission."-Bill
Brotherton
"This contract ensures 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.
Readiness in Action
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% mission capable
rates, with some operational squadrons consistently near 75%. Cost
per flight hour has decreased by more than 40% 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.
For additional information, visit www.f35.com.
About Lockheed Martin
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a
global security and aerospace company that employs approximately
110,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the
research, design, development, manufacture, integration and
sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and
services.
Please follow @LMNews on Twitter for the latest
announcements and news across the corporation.
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SOURCE Lockheed Martin Aeronautics