May 7, 2007 (by Lieven Dewitte) -
The first squadron of F-35 Lightning IIs isn't slated to go into operation until 2012, but the system that will serve as the information backbone of the F-35 maintenance and support network is now up and running.
After it's second flight of the day, Lightning II on approach to runway 3-5 at NAS Fort Worth on April 26th, 2007.
The F-35 Autonomic Logistics Information System (
ALIS) was formally switched on last Monday, during a ceremony at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics headquarters in Fort Worth. ALIS is a web-based information management system that will automate the capturing, analysing and communicating of F-35 maintenance and support data, initially at Fort Worth but eventually globally.
The ALIS environment will start by capturing real time flight test data from Lightning II test aircraft. This is an unprecedented step this early in the life of the aircraft, which only entered flight testing in December.
"No such system has ever been activated so early in a military aircraft program, and with up to 4,500 F-35s to support in the coming years, the magnitude of its importance is clear," said Dan Crowley, Lockheed Martin executive vice president and F-35 program general manager.
The formal turn-on comes as F-35 flight testing gathers pace. The first aircraft, AA-1, completed two flights in one day for the first time on 26 April.
"Historically, operation and support have accounted for about two-thirds of a fighter's lifecycle costs. F-35 aims to reduce those expenses significantly, starting with an extremely reliable aircraft and our sophisticated data management system, ALIS," said Tom Burbage, Lockheed Martin executive vice president and general manager of F-35 Program Integration.
Initially information the aircraft will be entered manually by maintainers, but an upgrade is planned to allow the first F-35 to downlink data in flight, in real time.
"Each F-35 will constantly monitor its own systems and automatically relay information to ALIS. In turn, ALIS will provide an information infrastructure that captures, analyzes, identifies and communicates F-35 characteristics and data, providing information and decision support for every Lightning II user worldwide, on land or at sea," said Kimberly Gavaletz, Lockheed Martin vice president for F-35 Autonomic Logistics and Global Sustainment.
The initial ALIS release includes commercial software tools including the Maintenix maintenance management system developed by Canada's Mxi Technologies for use by airlines; IFS Applications for supply-chain management; and Siebel for customer relationship management.
