February 16, 2005 (by Lieven Dewitte) -
The four major subassemblies for the first F-35 Joint Strike Fighter are taking shape as the program progresses toward final assembly in late spring at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth.
The Northrop Grumman-built center fuselage and the
BAE Systems-built aft-fuselage and tails will be shipped respectively from Palmdale and Samlesbury to Fort Worth in the second quarter of 2005, where they will be joined with the Lockheed Martin-built wing and forward fuselage. Assembly of the initial F-35A conventional takeoff and landing (
CTOL) variant is expected to be completed at the end of the year. First flight is planned for August 2006.
Northrop Grumman started assembly of the F-35A center fuselage in February 2004, beginning with the fabrication of the composite duct assemblies. Now, a year later, the company is completing the major mate of the center-fuselage upper and lower assemblies, and has begun hydraulic-, fuel- and electrical-systems installations.
On Jan. 31 at BAE Systems in Samlesbury, the F-35 aft fuselage marked a major on-time achievement with the machining of the first production assembly of the left-hand boom. All the structural components of the vertical tail are loaded in the assembly tool and will begin machining shortly. Horizontal-tail assembly will start in the near future. F-35 machining techniques will set new standards for assembly pace and precision, ensuring that the F-35's outer shape is exact and meets its low-observability (stealth) requirements. BAE Systems'
JSF Program Director Michael Christie said, "Techniques used in the machining of this first production component will fall within seven-thousandths of an inch - less than the width of a human hair."
At Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, workers have completed the initial attachment of composite skins to the forward fuselage, installed the cockpit floor, and have begun electrical-systems installation. Assembly of the wing structure is complete, and the lower composite skins were recently attached for drilling.
Manufacturing planning is currently in work for the first F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing (
STOVL) variant in preparation for fabrication activities. At Northrop Grumman, assembly operations for the F-35B center fuselage are scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2005. Lockheed Martin will begin F-35B assembly in the fourth quarter of this year, and BAE Systems will start assembling F-35B components in early 2006.
