Post by corsair67 on Jan 27, 2006 17:45:56 GMT 12
Well, if this doesn't put pressure on the Australian Govt to remain focussed on purchasing the JSF, I don't know what will!
I still think they're an ugly looking machine! ;D
Aussies strike it rich in US fighter deal
Steve Creedy, Aviation writer
January 27, 2006.
AUSTRALIAN industry could expect to get significantly more than the $100 million in work it had received so far from the massive F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) project, a major contractor in the US program has disclosed.
Northrop Grumman JSF deputy project manager Randy Secor said the quality and pricing of work coming out of Australia in the first phase of the program made it highly competitive against firms in the US and other parts of the world.
"If I look at how the Australian industry's performed, we expect it to continue to grow in the future," Mr Secor said.
Northrop Grumman is a major partner with lead contractor Lockheed Martin on the JSF project to supply the next generation of fighters to defence forces in countries such as the US, Britain and Australia.
Australia plans to buy up to 100 conventional take-off and landing versions of the aircraft - at an estimated cost of $16 billion - to replace its ageing F-111s and F/A 18s.
Up to 15 Australian companies are estimated to have already won JSF-based contracts, and Mr Secor said he expected the level of Australian participation to grow as the program ramped up.
He said the JSF program differed from "traditional" US programs in that it did not offer countries a set dollar value of work but looked at the most competitive bids.
This meant the opportunities were "almost endless".
Mr Secor pointed to companies such as Melbourne-based GKN Aerospace, which did 20 per cent of the engineering drawings for the first fighter and now employed 160 engineers on the project using state of the art technology.
"If you had asked about the participation of GKN, they have probably quadrupled what we originally expected, and that was just purely off performance and affordability," he said.
Another company likely to gain from the project was Melbourne's Hawker de Havilland, which was making composite parts for the new aircraft.
Despite reports about cost blowouts and delays on the project, Mr Secor said he was comfortable the JSF program was on schedule.
He agreed costs were a challenge but believed the partners had a good handle on affordability. He said this was one of the reasons for bringing in companies such as Hawker de Havilland.
"Their affordability means they can produce parts cheaper than the US can with the same quality and the same schedule," Mr Secor said.
He also denied that laws restricting technology exports from the US were an issue for Australian companies.
Recent reports suggest Britain could bow out of the project because of restrictions on transferring computer code and stealth technology.
But Mr Secor said: "There are few barriers of technology that would prevent Australian industries from competing on this program."
The JSF program is expected to reach a milestone next month when vertical and conventional take-off variants of the jet undergo a critical design review ahead of a first flight in the third quarter of this year.
I still think they're an ugly looking machine! ;D
Aussies strike it rich in US fighter deal
Steve Creedy, Aviation writer
January 27, 2006.
AUSTRALIAN industry could expect to get significantly more than the $100 million in work it had received so far from the massive F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) project, a major contractor in the US program has disclosed.
Northrop Grumman JSF deputy project manager Randy Secor said the quality and pricing of work coming out of Australia in the first phase of the program made it highly competitive against firms in the US and other parts of the world.
"If I look at how the Australian industry's performed, we expect it to continue to grow in the future," Mr Secor said.
Northrop Grumman is a major partner with lead contractor Lockheed Martin on the JSF project to supply the next generation of fighters to defence forces in countries such as the US, Britain and Australia.
Australia plans to buy up to 100 conventional take-off and landing versions of the aircraft - at an estimated cost of $16 billion - to replace its ageing F-111s and F/A 18s.
Up to 15 Australian companies are estimated to have already won JSF-based contracts, and Mr Secor said he expected the level of Australian participation to grow as the program ramped up.
He said the JSF program differed from "traditional" US programs in that it did not offer countries a set dollar value of work but looked at the most competitive bids.
This meant the opportunities were "almost endless".
Mr Secor pointed to companies such as Melbourne-based GKN Aerospace, which did 20 per cent of the engineering drawings for the first fighter and now employed 160 engineers on the project using state of the art technology.
"If you had asked about the participation of GKN, they have probably quadrupled what we originally expected, and that was just purely off performance and affordability," he said.
Another company likely to gain from the project was Melbourne's Hawker de Havilland, which was making composite parts for the new aircraft.
Despite reports about cost blowouts and delays on the project, Mr Secor said he was comfortable the JSF program was on schedule.
He agreed costs were a challenge but believed the partners had a good handle on affordability. He said this was one of the reasons for bringing in companies such as Hawker de Havilland.
"Their affordability means they can produce parts cheaper than the US can with the same quality and the same schedule," Mr Secor said.
He also denied that laws restricting technology exports from the US were an issue for Australian companies.
Recent reports suggest Britain could bow out of the project because of restrictions on transferring computer code and stealth technology.
But Mr Secor said: "There are few barriers of technology that would prevent Australian industries from competing on this program."
The JSF program is expected to reach a milestone next month when vertical and conventional take-off variants of the jet undergo a critical design review ahead of a first flight in the third quarter of this year.
