Lockheed could produce F/B-22 bomber

this is from the Star-telegram

Meeting challenges Lockheed could produce F/B-22 bomber

By Dave Montgomery

Star-Telegram Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON – A “weight attack team” has identified more than 2,700 pounds that can be pared from the F-35B, a version of the next-generation fighter jet being produced by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, program officials said Tuesday.

Also, a senior Lockheed Martin executive said a bomber version of the F/A-22 Raptor, being closely considered by the Air Force, would probably be assembled at Lockheed’s plant at Marietta, Ga. Fort Worth workers would probably build key components of the aircraft.

Lockheed Martin officials issued a healthy assessment of the F-35 joint strike fighter and F/A-22 Raptor during back-to-back briefings at a three-day Air Force Association Conference.

Tom Burbage, Lockheed Martin’s executive vice president and general manager for program integration for the F-35, and Rear Adm. Steven Enewold, the government’s executive director for the program, outlined an intense effort to fight excess weight that has forced a design overhaul in the one of the F-35’s three versions.

A team identified the potential weight cuts in the F-35B, which is designed for short takeoffs and vertical landings.

Designers have also tweaked performance to compensate for 600 more pounds, while slight changes in specifications could help trim 500 to 600 pounds, F-35 officials said.

The weight-reduction measures include a trimmed-down weapons bay, lighter fuselage skin, smaller exhaust nozzle and smaller battery.

They will be incorporated into the detailed design as development progresses, the officials said. They emphasized that the changes will not change the overall design concept.

Lockheed Martin, which is building the F-35 at its Fort Worth plant, leads a team that hopes to build nearly 2,600 F-35s through 2028 for five service branches in the United States and Great Britain. At least 1,500 to 3,000 foreign sales are projected.

Britain and seven other countries are participating in an international partnership to support development.

Enewold acknowledged that the partnership countries, particularly Italy, have expressed an interest in producing F-35s, but the program director said there is “no serious consideration” to open another production line beyond the one in Fort Worth.

Regarding the F/A-22, the Air Force has been officially evaluating a bomber version of the plane since April and is likely to provide feedback to company officials in the next few weeks, said Rob Weiss, the program’s deputy vice president in Fort Worth.

Weiss said production of an F/B-22 bomber would likely be similar to work under way on the F/A-22, a radar-evading, high-performance attack plane. Workers at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth and a Boeing plant in Seattle build sections of the fuselage; the Marietta plant handles final assembly.

Air Force Secretary James Roche has repeatedly expressed interest in a bomber version of the F/A-22 to help resolve the Air Force’s long-term bomber needs.

The Air Force, in an April 29 “request for information,” invited contractors to submit preliminary proposals for long-range strike aircraft and has received more than 25 responses. Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrop Grumman have submitted recommendations.

Weiss said the company’s tentative “baseline” plan envisions final production in Marietta in “a similar relationship that we have on the basic F/A-22 program.” Work on the bomber would also be performed in Fort Worth, he said.

Loren Thompson, an analyst with the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Va., said the Air Force “seems to be leaning” toward the F/A-22 variant and could begin development in the next several years.

Under the preliminary concept, the F/B-22 would have larger wings and more range and weaponry. Air Force officials would press for the first delivery in 2011, with possible full-rate production in 2016.

Marietta would perform final assembly, but Fort Worth would probably build “major structures” such as a wing or fuselage, Thompson said.

The F-35 and F/A-22, top priorities for Lockheed Martin and the Air Force, have been criticized for cost overruns and design problems, but Lockheed officials said those hurdles have largely been overcome.

“What a huge difference a year makes,” Weiss said, calling the F/A-22 “healthy solid. All the technical challenges are resolved today.”

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics’ new 82,000-square-foot plant in Fort Worth is dedicated Tuesday. The plant, where the F-35 joint strike fighter will be assembled, will have, among other features, two pairs of robots that will precisely coat jet fighter parts and assemblies. STAFF WRITER BOB COX REPORTS | 8C

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