. | . |
Pentagon and Lockheed Martin agree to $1.28B F-35 sustainment contract by Staff Writers Fort Worth CO (SPX) Jan 07, 2021
The F-35 Joint Program Office awarded the Lockheed Martin 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," 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 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.
Newly-acquired AFRL test aircraft to aid personnel recovery research Wright-Patterson AFB OH (AFNS) Jan 06, 2021 A small aircraft that is poised to make a big impact on military personnel recovery made a brief stop in the Dayton, Ohio, area on its way to St. Mary's County, Maryland, where it will be used to test the Air Force Research Laboratory-developed Low Altitude Sensing Helmet system. On Dec. 21, 2020, the CubCrafters XCub aircraft was ferried from Yakima, Washington, to the Lewis A. Jackson Regional Airport near Dayton, Ohio, on its journey to the AFRL 711th Human Performance Wing's contracted researc ... read more
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |