In Lockheed Martin's mile-long hangar in Texas, a group of aircraft manufacturers are adapting automotive fabrication techniques to the new-generation F-35 fighter. A major new airplane almost always causes a revolution in manufacturing technology, but the largest military procurement program in history for the new Joint Strike Fighter (JSF/F-35) is pushing the envelope to new extremes. Manufacturing of the F-35 will be divided into three basic areas: forward fuselage, wing/mid-fuselage, and rear fuselage/tail empennage. Prime contractor on the 200-billion USD project is Lockheed Martin. Final assembly for all three configurations will be done at its assembly plant near Fort Worth-on the same assembly line. Major subcontractors include Northrop Grumman (design and integration of the center fuselage with the weapons bay), BAE Systems in the UK (aft fuselage, horizontal and vertical stabilizers, and wing-fold mechanism for the Navy version), Pratt and Whitney (engine), and Rolls Royce (counter-rotating lifting fans for the F-35B version).


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    Title :

    Rising to the challenge of the F-35 fighter


    Contributors:
    Bryson, F. (author)

    Published in:

    Tooling and Production ; 69 , 3 ; 20-25


    Publication date :

    2003


    Size :

    5 Seiten, 6 Bilder



    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Print


    Language :

    English