GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON DC
Lockheed Martin has told Boeing there is no substantial stake available in the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme. The two companies have only met once since Lockheed Martin was awarded the $19 billion contract to develop the F-35 JSF in October last year.
"We have explained the situation to them," says Tom Burbage, Lockheed Martin executive vice-president and JSF programme general manager. "Lockheed Martin only retains around 19% of the programme. We have teaming agreements with investing partners for a significant portion of the programme and we have expectations for international participation on the part of our government. What's left is what's available, and there's not a lot left."
Burbage says the US government is asking Lockheed Martin to integrate international partners, but is not forcing the company to give work to Boeing. The Department of Defense "will not give us any cost or schedule relief for any change to the industry team", he says. "That doesn't mean they can't participate. We have sent several requests for proposals to Boeing to bid on."
Lockheed Martin has already identified work packages for the first international participants beyond the UK, which is already part of the JSF programme with an 8% stake. Canada has agreed to become a minority partner and will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Level 3 (1-2%) participation next month, committing $250 million to the $25 billion development effort. It will also offer use of its test facilities.
If given parliamentary approval this month, the Netherlands plans to sign an MoU on Level 2 (up to 5%) participation in March. Burbage says Lockheed Martin has already identified a work package for Dutch industry. The Italians are also planning Level 2 participation, and a Lockheed Martin team visited Italy last week to discuss the proposed work package.
Source: Flight International
