ockheed Martin won a $712.8 million order to design and test updated technology including cockpit displays for the F-35 fighter jet, already the most expensive weapons program in U.S. history.
Improvements made in the so-called TR-3, or Technical Refresh-3, upgrade will appear on jets scheduled for delivery in 2023, the Bethesda, Md.-based company said Friday. They're designed to provide a government-owned interface into the F-35's "inner guts," which can then be modified at the military's discretion, Vice Adm. Matt Winter, the head of the program, told the House Armed Services Committee earlier this year.
Lockheed selected Harris Corp. to handle a key piece of the work, modifications of the integrated core processor that serves as the stealth fighter's brains, in September. The processor handles data for communications, sensors, electronic warfare, guidance and control, cockpit and helmet displays.
The largest U.S. defense contractor, Lockheed trumped rival Boeing for the right to develop the aircraft in 2001, the first year of George W. Bush's presidency. The stealthy, supersonic plane was designed to replace aging fighter jets such as the Air Force's F-16s and the Navy's F/A-18s while deftly handling both precision air-to-ground strikes and mid-air combat with other jets.
Development of the aircraft, which already carried an expected price tag of more than $406 billion, hasn't always run smoothly, however. Members of Congress have criticized rising costs and delays in the program, and the Defense Department temporarily blocked deliveries of the stealth fighter before resolving a dispute over repairs in May.
The concern in that case was Lockheed's failure to apply a corrosion-preventing primer to fastener holes on the aircraft, the government said. The military office overseeing the program, along with U.S. armed forces and overseas allies, set up a corrective-action plan to make necessary repairs while minimizing the effect on defense operations.
The contractor said earlier this year that it would add 400 workers to boost production of the F-35 after making good on an earlier promise to President Trump to increase the workforce by 1,800.
Lockheed says it has cut the cost of building each F-35 by about 60 percent since the first lot was produced and is on track to reduce the expense to $80 million by 2020, which would be equal to or less than legacy jets like the F/A-18.
The company's stock rose 0.6 percent to $261.26 in New York trading on Friday, paring its decline so far this year to 19 percent.
The F-35 is Lockheed's "largest growth opportunity," representing more than 25 percent of yearly sales, CEO Marillyn Hewson said at a Credit Suisse conference in late November. At the time, the contractor had delivered 330 of the aircraft, which has also proven popular with U.S. allies globally.
"We see interest around the world for a continued opportunity to sell the F-35," she added. "As each country does their fighter competitions, we think the F-35 will be in that realm of fighters that they look at. And frankly, so far, it's been the best choice for the countries that have selected it."
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/...ade-drives-priciest-fighters-cost-even-higher
Improvements made in the so-called TR-3, or Technical Refresh-3, upgrade will appear on jets scheduled for delivery in 2023, the Bethesda, Md.-based company said Friday. They're designed to provide a government-owned interface into the F-35's "inner guts," which can then be modified at the military's discretion, Vice Adm. Matt Winter, the head of the program, told the House Armed Services Committee earlier this year.
Lockheed selected Harris Corp. to handle a key piece of the work, modifications of the integrated core processor that serves as the stealth fighter's brains, in September. The processor handles data for communications, sensors, electronic warfare, guidance and control, cockpit and helmet displays.
The largest U.S. defense contractor, Lockheed trumped rival Boeing for the right to develop the aircraft in 2001, the first year of George W. Bush's presidency. The stealthy, supersonic plane was designed to replace aging fighter jets such as the Air Force's F-16s and the Navy's F/A-18s while deftly handling both precision air-to-ground strikes and mid-air combat with other jets.
Development of the aircraft, which already carried an expected price tag of more than $406 billion, hasn't always run smoothly, however. Members of Congress have criticized rising costs and delays in the program, and the Defense Department temporarily blocked deliveries of the stealth fighter before resolving a dispute over repairs in May.
The concern in that case was Lockheed's failure to apply a corrosion-preventing primer to fastener holes on the aircraft, the government said. The military office overseeing the program, along with U.S. armed forces and overseas allies, set up a corrective-action plan to make necessary repairs while minimizing the effect on defense operations.
The contractor said earlier this year that it would add 400 workers to boost production of the F-35 after making good on an earlier promise to President Trump to increase the workforce by 1,800.
Lockheed says it has cut the cost of building each F-35 by about 60 percent since the first lot was produced and is on track to reduce the expense to $80 million by 2020, which would be equal to or less than legacy jets like the F/A-18.
The company's stock rose 0.6 percent to $261.26 in New York trading on Friday, paring its decline so far this year to 19 percent.
The F-35 is Lockheed's "largest growth opportunity," representing more than 25 percent of yearly sales, CEO Marillyn Hewson said at a Credit Suisse conference in late November. At the time, the contractor had delivered 330 of the aircraft, which has also proven popular with U.S. allies globally.
"We see interest around the world for a continued opportunity to sell the F-35," she added. "As each country does their fighter competitions, we think the F-35 will be in that realm of fighters that they look at. And frankly, so far, it's been the best choice for the countries that have selected it."
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/...ade-drives-priciest-fighters-cost-even-higher
