PALMDALE, Calif., Oct. 30, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has begun producing the center fuselage for the first international F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, an F-35B short take off, vertical landing (STOVL) variant for the United Kingdom designated BK-1. The center fuselage is the core structure around which the F-35 aircraft is built.
A photo accompanying this release is available at http://media.globenewswire.com/noc/
The assembly process began Oct. 26 at the company's Palmdale Manufacturing Center with the loading of an all-composite air inlet duct into a special tooling structure called a jig. This first assembly process, one of approximately 18 major steps in assembling an F-35 center fuselage, consists of attaching metal frames around the duct. The frames serve to brace and position the duct properly within the center fuselage.
"Jig loading the BK-1 center fuselage for the United Kingdom's first F-35 demonstrates that the program is delivering on its promise to produce a fifth generation, multi-role fighter that meets the common air combat requirements of the U.S. and its allies," said Mark Tucker, vice president and F-35 program manager for Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems sector. "Through a disciplined approach to managing costs and engineering changes, we're continuing to reduce program risks, which will help the F-35 industry team put jets on the ramp on or before the initial operational need dates of our international partners."
Tucker noted that the company had started assembling the BK-1 center fuselage three days sooner than the date indicated by the F-35 program's master schedule.
Northrop Grumman is a principal and founding member of the F-35 industry team led by Lockheed Martin. To date, the company has delivered 25 center fuselages -- 19 for the system development and demonstration phase, six for the low rate initial production (LRIP) phases of the program.
BK-1 is being produced as part of LRIP3. The program is scheduled to produce 138 F-35Bs for the United Kingdom.
Final assembly of all F-35 jets is performed by Lockheed Martin at a facility in Fort Worth, Texas. The process includes mating a Northrop Grumman-built center fuselage to an aft fuselage produced by BAE Systems, and the forward fuselage/cockpit and wings produced by Lockheed Martin.
Northrop Grumman is responsible for the design and production of center fuselages for all three variants of F-35 aircraft: conventional takeoff and landing; short takeoff, vertical landing; and the carrier variant. The F-35 Lightning II program expects to build more than 3,100 aircraft.
As a member of the F-35 global industry team, Northrop Grumman is central to the development, production and support of the F-35 Lightning II. The company designed and produces the aircraft's center fuselage, radar and other key avionics including electro-optical and communications subsystems; develops mission systems and mission-planning software; leads the team's development of pilot and maintenance training system courseware; and manages the team's use, support and maintenance of low-observable technologies.
Northrop Grumman Corporation is a leading global security company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems, shipbuilding and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide.
CONTACT: Brooks McKinney, APR
Northrop Grumman Corporation
(310) 331-6610
(310) 864-3785 mobile
[email protected]
- Forums
- ASX - By Stock
- oct 30th
PALMDALE, Calif., Oct. 30, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Northrop...
Featured News
Add QHL (ASX) to my watchlist
(20min delay)
|
|||||
Last
24.5¢ |
Change
0.010(4.26%) |
Mkt cap ! $17.57M |
Open | High | Low | Value | Volume |
23.0¢ | 24.5¢ | 23.0¢ | $11.39K | 47.91K |
Buyers (Bids)
No. | Vol. | Price($) |
---|---|---|
2 | 9500 | 22.0¢ |
Sellers (Offers)
Price($) | Vol. | No. |
---|---|---|
25.5¢ | 3000 | 1 |
View Market Depth
No. | Vol. | Price($) |
---|---|---|
1 | 7095 | 0.240 |
1 | 50000 | 0.230 |
1 | 4000 | 0.225 |
1 | 4500 | 0.220 |
2 | 54586 | 0.210 |
Price($) | Vol. | No. |
---|---|---|
0.250 | 32500 | 1 |
0.255 | 3000 | 1 |
0.260 | 10000 | 1 |
0.265 | 36000 | 1 |
0.270 | 26777 | 2 |
Last trade - 16.10pm 26/09/2024 (20 minute delay) ? |
Featured News
QHL (ASX) Chart |