Lockheed Martin recently received a $150m contract from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) to manufacture components for five additional F-2 production aircraft. MHI is the prime contractor for the F-2, Japan’s operational support fighter.
‘Japan selected the Lockheed Martin F-16 multi-role fighter in 1987 as the basis for the joint Japan-US design of a new support fighter for the Japan Air Self Defence Force (JASDF), and Lockheed Martin began delivery of production airframe and avionics components and other F-2 systems to MHI in 1998,’ said Jim Shidler, Lockheed Martin F-2 program director.
The Japanese government recently authorised the total production of 94 F-2 aircraft, and this new award to Lockheed Martin brings the total aircraft under contract to 86.
Lockheed Martin is producing components for 81 F-2 aircraft from those orders initiated under the 10 previous annual contracts.
Under this new contract, the company will provide all of the aft fuselages, wing leading-edge flaps and stores management systems; 80 percent of all left-hand wing boxes; and other avionics and avionics support equipment.
Lockheed Martin components are shipped to MHI’s Komaki-South facility in Nagoya, Japan, where they are assembled with other components by MHI to form the F-2. MHI delivered the first production aircraft to the Japanese Ministry of Defence in September 2000, and has delivered 71 aircraft to date.
Lockheed Martin successfully completed all component deliveries in January 2007 for its ninth annual production contract with MHI. Delivery of major components for the tenth contract, signed last year, began in December 2006. This year’s contract, the eleventh, is effective immediately with deliveries scheduled to begin in February 2008.
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