First Australian component for the first Australian F-35 handed over

Notable attendees were Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare, LM’s EVP/GM F-35 program, Tom Burbage, and Head of the New Air Combat Capability Program for the DMO, Air ViceMarshal Kym Osley, as well as Mike Ramsay, MD of Lovitt Technologies.

The component – a machined longeron assembly for the F-35’s keel – is due to be shipped to the US presently, and Minister Clare outlined the journey before it: “From Melbourne here, it’s shipped to LM’s facility in Marietta, Georgia where it’s mated with a wing, currently under construction, and then it heads to Fort Worth where it’s mated with parts made in the US, UK, Netherlands, Denmark, Canada and Turkey, and they all come together to make our first F-35. That aircraft is then flown to Luke AFB Arizona, where Australian pilots will fly it as part of the OT&E process. It then arrives in Australia in 2018/19. ” Currently, over 30 Australian companies are engaged in work on the Joint Strike Fighter, made possible thanks to the Howard government’s 24 2002 decision to participate, at the cost of $200 million, in the JSF Industrial Participation Plan administered by LM and the US DoD. Work won by Australian-based companies recently exceeding the $300 million mark, with contracts awarded covering the provision of hardware and software, ranging from electronic equipment chassis from TAE and AW Bell, to composite panel doors by Quickstep, to cockpit voice recognition systems designed by Adacel and training courseware by Kellogg, Brown and Root.

Marand Precision Engineering of Geelong had an earlier success in securing sole-source supplier status for the JSF’s engine installation and removal trailer.

LM’s Tom Burbage noted the work of Australian Industry during the JSF’s SDD (System Development and Demonstration) and Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) phases,

and highlighted that further opportunities await Australian companies as production of the F-35 ramps up.

“We’re now at a point where we should start up the production curve to the numbers that we’ve always hoped we’d achieve. What happens then is an ecosystem starts developing, and second and third tier suppliers become involved as we produce more product. The program is on a vector now to achieve not only the military elements that it was set up to do, but also the industrial ones as well. ” This is good news to Lovitt Technologies MD Mike Ramsay, who has helped position the company as a key supplier of high-end, precision aerospace components. Currently, the company exports over 60,000 components and sub-assemblies to the aerospace industry and, since machining its first

MARKING A MILESTONE Tom Burbage, executive vice president and general manager of F-35 integration presents Michael Ramsay, chairman of the board of Lovitt Technologies with a plaque to commemorate the delivery of the first Australian-manufactured part for the first Australian F-35. Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare looks on. (Lockheed Martin)

precision part for Lockheed Martin in 2006, has booked over $8 million of JSF-related orders. Ramsay acknowledged the challenges posed by a high Australian dollar, but pointed out that LM’s flexibility allowed his firm to contain costs.

“Thankfully, LM have certified Electromold, a local processing company, for processing these components in Australia. I’m proud that federal and state governments, and Lovitts, have financially contributed to increase the capability of Electromold. It stops an additional trip to the States, and makes us more competitive. ” In order to ameliorate the impact of the high dollar and assist local industry in bidding for F-35 work, the federal government has established the Industry Support Program within the New Air Combat Capability (NACC) program office. As outlined in the government’s Defence Industry Policy Statement – Building Defence Capability: a Policy for a Smarter and More Agile Defence Industry Base, the NACC-ISP is aimed at “assisting defence industry businesses to improve their capability, competitiveness and capacity for innovation with regard the Joint Strike Fighter ( JSF) project. ” AVM Osley explained to Australian Aviation that the ISP has $8. 2 million allocated “to allow the non-recurrings in a project, initial startup costs to be defrayed. Companies (still) have to contribute equally and have to present a justifiable business case [but] that’s enabled our companies to get a foot in the door and win business on merit. ”