UK to sign for first F-35 Joint Strike Fighters ‘within weeks’
The UK is expected to sign a deal “within the next few weeks” to participate in the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) phase, says minister for defence equipment and support Quentin Davies.
Davies and representatives from the UK Ministry of Defence’s Joint Combat Aircraft integrated project team visited Lockheed’s Fort Worth manufacturing site in Texas in February. During the visit they held discussions with officials from the company and the US armed services.
Topics covered in the talks spanned issues such as operational sovereignty, in-service support, the integration of UK-specific equipment and programme costs, says Davies, who adds that the visit “helped answer some questions”.
The minister told a launch event for the UK Royal Navy’s “Fly Navy 100” celebrations in London on 16 February that he believes the programme is “well under control, and there are already indications on price schedules that we are talking about. I hope that there will be a very positive announcement within the next few weeks.”
As the USA’s lone Level 1 partner on the JSF project, the UK has long planned to acquire three short take-off and vertical landing F-35Bs during the IOT&E phase to participate in development testing of the fifth-generation type as part of a joint test team. This will inform the MoD’s long-term acquisition plans for the type, and enable it “to make suggestions early enough in the programme where it is possible to improve some systems or performances,” Davies says.
“The operational testing and evaluation phase is essential,” he says. “Some of the other [JSF] customers are prepared to simply buy the aircraft and take it on trust, but I don’t think that’s a responsible way [for the UK] to act.”
Lockheed requires the UK to sign a contract for its IOT&E aircraft by the end of February, but the investment had recently been rumoured as potentially being at risk under the MoD’s ongoing financial planning round. However, Davies says: “I have a smile on my face, and I’m confident we shall be able to move forward.”
Industry sources suggest that the UK could eventually purchase up to 138 production F-35s to meet its Joint Combat Aircraft requirement, which will deliver new fighters for use by Royal Air Force and RN squadrons, including from two 65,000t Future Aircraft Carriers (artist’s impression above).
The RN will mark the centenary of its manned aviation activities on 7 May.
All I can say is hooray!
If it is 138 lets hope its a sensible split between the RN and RAF. Also lets hope it is a sign that the RAF and Royal Navy have been told to grow up and stop the recent stupid interservice spat that only serves to harm both services.
Lockheed Martin to Upgrade Ship Defense System on Turkish Navy Frigates
15:30 GMT, February 17, 2009 MOORESTOWN, NJ | The U.S. Navy recently awarded Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] a contract to upgrade the MK 92 Fire Control System on Turkey’s G-class guided missile frigates. The system upgrade will support the introduction of the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM), providing enhanced self-protection capabilities for this class of surface warships.
The MK 92 system, originally developed by Lockheed Martin, provides integrated X-band radar surveillance, target tracking and weapon fire control capability for naval gun and missile systems. Under the new Navy contract, Lockheed Martin will design, develop and integrate modifications necessary to support the new missile capability.
“The MK 92 upgrade represents the first U.S. Navy-sponsored sale of our solid-state continuous wave illumination transmitter to support ESSM deployment by navies around the world,” said Stan Ozga, Lockheed Martin’s director for Naval Radar Programs. “Building on our successes with systems already in use by Norway and Australia, Lockheed Martin will deliver, with this latest variant, a major improvement to the guided missile frigate anti-air warfare capability and continue more than two decades of support to the operational needs of the Turkish Navy.”
The upgrade, when combined with Lockheed Martin’s MK41 Vertical Launching System, will allow increased self defense capacity through the MK25 Quadpack canister allowing four ESSMs to be loaded in each MK41 cell, resulting in enhanced self-protection capabilities for this class of surface warships. ESSM is a medium range quick reaction missile designed to defeat stressing anti ship cruise missiles.
More than 125 shipboard MK 92 systems have been produced and deployed with nine different navies around the world. It has been installed on more than 70 guided missile frigates, as well as on a variety of other surface ships including coast guard cutters, corvettes and fast attack craft.
Interesting, so Turkey is going down the same path as Australia in respect of an upgrade to the Perry Classes anti air capability.
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