Lockheed Martin, Universal Synaptics Corporation Partnering To Solve DoD Intermittent Anomalies

Lockheed Martin Senior Program Manager Liston Cribb (right) signs the Intermittent Fault Detection technology agreement with Universal Synaptics Corporation President and CEO Ken Anderson.

ORLANDO, Fla., Dec. 17, 2018 – Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and Universal Synaptics Corporation signed an agreement to help the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) tackle an issue known as intermittent fault anomaly. A new automated testing technology, developed by Universal Synaptics, called Intermittent Fault Detection discovers random fault anomalies in multi-domain platform electronics as well as wiring harnesses. This issue currently drives an estimated $2 billion in annual DoD maintenance costs.

This system increases platform mission capable rates by eliminating unnecessary follow-on maintenance and proactively addressing emerging issues. This new capability isolates each intermittent fault and provides easy-to-follow maintenance actions for the maintainer to return the unit back into service. 

In addition to mission capable improvements, eliminating intermittent failures will dramatically reduce sustainment costs by keeping platforms operating and decreasing repairs and supply support.

“This new capability is groundbreaking, and we’re tremendously excited to help the DoD address a challenge costing them billions,” said Laura Frank, vice president of Lockheed Martin Enterprise Sustainment Solutions. “Resolving intermittence in electronics is a discriminator for the DoD in achieving an 80-percent Mission Capable rate across platforms.”

Together, the team will identify solutions for the DoD with the Intermittent Fault Detection & Isolation System 2.0™ (IFDIS2™), the Voyager Intermittent Fault Detector™ (VIFD™) and the associated Interface and Application (IA) solutions. This next-generation, integrated system is used to detect intermittent faults in nearly any piece of electronic equipment or wiring on any platform including F-22, F-16, F-35, F/A-18, rotary platforms such as the UH-60 as well as land and sea platforms.

“This partnership aligns our collective goals of reducing No Fault Found and increasing warfighter readiness by eradicating intermittent faults,” said Ken Anderson, Universal Synaptics Corporation President and CEO. “Together we will define a new era of advanced test capabilities and reset test equipment performance expectations for the DoD Maintenance Enterprise.”

U.S. Navy Awards Boeing $805 million MQ-25 Contract

Boeing will provide the carrier-based unmanned aerial refuelers to extend the range of deployed fighters

Boeing’s MQ-25 unmanned aerial refueler, known as T1, is currently being tested at Boeing’s St. Louis site. T1 has completed engine runs and deck handling demonstrations designed to prove the agility and ability of the aircraft to move around within the tight confines of a carrier deck. (Photo: Eric Shindelbower, Boeing)

ST. LOUIS, Aug. 30, 2018 — Boeing [NYSE: BA] will build the U.S. Navy’s first operational carrier-based unmanned aircraft, the MQ-25 aerial refueler, through an $805 million contract awarded today.

Boeing was awarded the engineering and manufacturing development contract to provide four aircraft. Boeing plans to perform the MQ-25 work in St. Louis.

“As a company, we made an investment in both our team and in an unmanned aircraft system that meets the U.S. Navy’s refueling requirements,” said Leanne Caret, president and CEO, Boeing Defense, Space & Security. “The fact that we’re already preparing for first flight is thanks to an outstanding team who understands the Navy and their need to have this important asset on carrier decks around the world.”

MQ-25 is designed to provide the U.S. Navy with a much-needed refueling capability. According to the U.S. Navy, the MQ-25 Stingray will allow for better use of combat strike fighters by extending the range of deployed Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, Boeing EA-18G Growler, and Lockheed Martin F-35C aircraft. MQ-25 will also seamlessly integrate with a carrier’s catapult and launch and recovery systems.

Boeing has been providing carrier aircraft to the U.S. Navy for more than 90 years.

PENTAGON AND LOCKHEED MARTIN DELIVER 300TH F-35 AIRCRAFT

F-35 Enterprise Ramps Up Production and Reduces Costs

FORT WORTH, Texas, June 11, 2018/PRNewswire/ -- The F-35 Joint Program Office and Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] delivered the 300th production F-35 aircraft, demonstrating the program's continued progress and momentum. The 300th aircraft is a U.S. Air Force F-35A, to be delivered to Hill Air Force Base, Utah.

"The F-35 weapons system is a key enabler of our National Defense Strategy and is providing our warfighters the combat proven, advanced capabilities they need to meet mission requirements," said Vice Admiral Mat Winter, program executive officer for the F-35 Joint Program Office. "The 300th production aircraft delivery is a significant milestone that highlights the effective F-35 Enterprise collaboration across the JPO, U.S. services, partners and industry. Moving forward, our F-35 team remains committed to driving costs down, quality up and faster delivery timelines across our development, production and sustainment lines of effort."

The first 300 F-35s include 197 F-35A conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variants, 75 F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) variants, and 28 F-35C carrier variants (CV) and have been delivered to U.S. and international customers. More than 620 pilots and 5,600 maintainers have been trained, and the F-35 fleet has surpassed more than 140,000 cumulative flight hours.

"This milestone is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our joint government and industry team as we collaborate to deliver transformational F-35 capabilities to the men and women in uniform," said Greg Ulmer, Lockheed Martin vice president and general manager of the F-35 program. "We are focused on reducing costs, increasing efficiencies, and ensuring the highest level of quality as we ramp to full rate production and sustainment of the operational fleet."

Increasing Production, Reducing Costs

As production volume increases and additional efficiencies are implemented, Lockheed Martin is on track to reduce the cost of an F-35A to $80 million by 2020, which is equal to or less than legacy 4th generation aircraft. With the incorporation of lessons learned, process efficiencies, production automation, facility and tooling upgrades, supply chain initiatives and more, the F-35 enterprise has already significantly reduced costs and improved efficiency. For example:

• The price of an F-35A has come down more than 60 percent from the first contract.
• Touch labor has been reduced by about 75 percent over the last five years.
• Production span time has decreased by about 20 percent since 2015.

The F-35 enterprise met its 2017 delivery target of 66 aircraft, representing more than a 40 percent increase from 2016. In 2018, the team is targeting 91 aircraft deliveries and is preparing to increase production volume year-over-year to hit a rate of approximately 160 aircraft in 2023.

Economic Impact

The F-35 is built by thousands of men and women in America and around the world. With more than 1,500 suppliers in 46 states and Puerto Rico, the F-35 program supports more than 194,000 direct and indirect jobs in the U.S. alone. The program also includes more than 100 international suppliers, creating or sustaining thousands of international jobs.

With stealth technology, supersonic speed, advanced sensors, weapons capacity and range, the F-35 is the most lethal, survivable and connected fighter aircraft ever built. More than a fighter jet, the F-35's ability to collect, analyze and share data is a powerful force multiplier that enhances all airborne, surface and ground-based assets in the battlespace and enables men and women in uniform to execute their mission and return home safe.

Pratt & Whitney and F-35 Program Office Announce Contract Award for 135 F135 Engines

EAST HARTFORD, Conn., May 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), and the U.S. Department of Defense today announced a contract award for the 11th lot of F135 propulsion systems, powering all three variants of the F-35 Lightning II aircraft.

The latest contract continues to support program affordability initiatives with reduction in propulsion system price. The 11th low rate initial production (LRIP) contract will cover 135 engines, as well as program management, engineering support, production support, spare modules, and spare parts.

"This agreement for the next lot of F135 engines represents a fair deal for the U.S. Government, the international partnership and industry," said Vice Admiral Mat Winter, F-35 Program Executive Officer. "Affordability is our number one priority, and by working together, we are making steady progress in reducing F-35 propulsion costs."

The total award for the Lot 11 propulsion systems is approximately $2 billion. In general, the unit recurring flyaway (URF) price for the 110 LRIP Lot 11 conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) and carrier variant (CV) propulsion systems will be reduced 0.34 percent from the previously negotiated LRIP Lot 10 URF. The URF price for the 25 LRIP Lot 11 short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) propulsion systems (including lift systems) will be reduced 3.39 percent from the previously negotiated LRIP Lot 10 URF.

"Pratt & Whitney and our supply chain remain committed to continual cost reduction for the F135 engine and to providing a superior product at the best value for our U.S. and international customers," said John Wiedemer, vice president, F135 Program, Pratt & Whitney. "Since 2009, we have reduced the production cost of the F135 by more than half and are now pursuing additional affordability initiatives to drive down engine production and sustainment costs even further throughout the F-35's planned lifecycle."

To date, Pratt & Whitney has delivered 375 F135 engines. Deliveries of LRIP 11 engines will start this year.

Pratt & Whitney

Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines and auxiliary power units. United Technologies Corp., based in Farmington, Connecticut, provides high-technology systems and services to the building and aerospace industries. To learn more about UTC, visit its website at www.utc.com, or follow the company on Twitter: @UTC. For more information about Pratt & Whitney, visit http://www.pratt-whitney.com.  

Northrop Grumman Delivers Advanced F-35 Electronic Warfare Simulation Capability to Navy

The CEESIM, SMS and SCS systems delivered to the U.S. Navy for the F-35 provide RF simulation, measurement and synchronization of multiple, simultaneous emitters to faithfully simulate true-to-war conditions.

BUFFALO, N.Y. – May 7, 2018 – Preparing the F-35, the U.S. Navy’s most advanced fighter, for missions in today’s complex electromagnetic spectrum environment requires an equally advanced test environment. Northrop Grumman’s (NYSE: NOC) multispectral testing solution recreates the most accurate mission-like conditions in the laboratory and on the range. Recently, NAWCWD Point Mugu took delivery of the most sophisticated test environment the company has ever created.

The environment consists of Northrop Grumman’s Combat Electromagnetic Environment Simulator (CEESIM), Signal Measurement System (SMS) and other stimulators, all under control of the Synchronizer Controller System (SCS).

“Keeping the F-35’s systems ready requires a fully integrated test environment like we have developed with CEESIM, SMS and SCS,” said Joe Downie, director, land and avionics C4ISR division, Northrop Grumman Mission Systems. “These systems work together to provide the environment complexity and density, measurement and analysis capability, and test control capability necessary to evaluate the F-35 in a realistic mission scenario.”

At the center of the environment is the CEESIM, which simulates multiple, simultaneous RF emitters as well as static and dynamic platform attributes to faithfully model true-to-war conditions. CEESIM’s Advanced Pulse Generation high speed direct digital synthesizer technology is used to generate realistic electronic warfare mission scenarios.

The SMS provides wide bandwidth signal measurement, recording and analysis capability which is used to validate the test environment and evaluate the system under test performance.

The SCS provides the tools to program an integrated multispectral test scenario, including threat radars, communications signals, radar and EO/IR signatures. The SCS also manages the execution of the scenario by all of the stimulators to ensure a coherent multispectral test environment.

To learn more about CEESIM, SMS, and SCS visit: http://www.northropgrumman.com/Capabilities/CEESIM/Pages/default.aspx.

Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, strike, and logistics and modernization to customers worldwide. Please visit news.northropgrumman.comand follow us on Twitter, @NGCNews, for more information.

P&W Team Deploys Major Logistics System Upgrade for F-35 Operational Fleet

A joint team consisting of Pratt & Whitney, Lockheed Martin, Rolls-Royce and the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) subject matter experts successfully completed the rollout of a major upgrade to the F-35’s fleet management system. All F-35 operational bases around the globe were upgraded with the latest version of the Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS version 2.0.2.4), which now integrates Pratt & Whitney’s F135 propulsion system for the first time. Migrating the F135 propulsion system into ALIS marks an important next step in the evolution of the F-35 in terms of comprehensive weapon system sustainment.

This new release of ALIS automates the tracking of life-limited propulsion parts, manages squadron maintenance requirements with enhanced supply chain features and enables enhanced fault isolation, diagnostics & health trending to streamline resource management during home or deployed operations.

“Integrating propulsion into ALIS at every F-35 operational base represents a significant milestone for the F-35 program,” said Larry Breen, Associate Director, F135 ALIS Program Manager at Pratt & Whitney. “As a result of this upgrade, the men and women that support the F-35 can now manage a wide spectrum of logistics for the aircraft - including propulsion - from a single logistics system, eliminating much of the manual planning that was previously required with multiple maintenance systems. Ultimately, the integration of propulsion into ALIS will provide automated maintenance process capabilities, reducing sustainment costs and increasing aircraft availability. It is also a key enabler for condition-based maintenance, instead of cost-intensive fixed duration schedules, for this multi-role weapons system.”

ALIS serves as the information technology backbone of the F-35, capturing and analyzing condition-based data from the entire aircraft targeting preventative maintenance, prognostic health monitoring, supply chain management, flight scheduling and mission planning. For example, ALIS communicates health reporting codes, which when triggered, identify a component requiring the attention of the maintainers on the ground. ALIS also enables the pre-positioning of parts and qualified technicians, so downtime is minimized and the efficiency of flight line operations is increased.

Beginning in March 2017, cross functional contingents of more than 100 Pratt & Whitney employees partnered with subject matter experts from Lockheed Martin and the JPO to migrate propulsion at every operational base worldwide. Base migrations averaged 15 days from start to finish, and were led by Roger Neama, Larry Breen and Steve Switalski. Migration inventory teams touched nearly 200,000 propulsion assets around the world during wall-to-wall material audits. Data migration teams transitioned inventory records and component usage history into the new system, while post ‘Go-Live’ teams supported each squadron as they took their first steps processing off board engine usage data in ALIS as the official system of record.

“Successful integration of the F135 propulsion system in ALIS is a testament to the caliber and dedication of the dependable men and women at Pratt & Whitney,” said Roger Neama, Associate Director, F135 Program Manager at Pratt & Whitney. “I am extremely proud of the entire F135 propulsion migration team, which includes a wide cross section of our Military Engines employees, contractors and Rolls-Royce counterparts. They worked around the clock and made many personal sacrifices to balance each squadron’s operational needs with the delivery of new ALIS propulsion capabilities.”

Steven Switalski, F135 ALIS Technical Integration Manager at Pratt & Whitney, added: “The ability of the propulsion migration team to adapt and overcome complex technical challenges, crossing organizational and company boundaries, was truly impressive. Their willingness and ability to quickly resolve the unexpected demonstrated how important the success of this effort was to each and every one of them. The team that traveled domestically and internationally depended on support teams back home, often during late nights, weekends and across time zones for help.”

To date, propulsion migration in ALIS version 2.0.2.4 was rolled out at the following F-35 operational bases:

• Nellis Air Force Base (Nevada)
• Naval Air Station Lemoore (California)
• Eglin Air Force Base (Florida)
• Hill Air Force Base and Ogden Aircraft Depot (Utah)
• Edwards Air Force Base (California)
• Marine Corps Air Station Yuma (Arizona)
• Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni (Japan)
• Nevatim Air Base (Israel)
• Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point (North Carolina)
• Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort (South Carolina)
• Luke Air Force Base (Arizona)
• Amendola Air Base (Italy)

Future F-35 base activations will include ALIS version 2.0.2.4 or newer with propulsion already integrated. ALIS version 3.0 brings additional functionality to the front lines and is expected to be fielded later this year.

Lockheed Martin Collaborates with SAS on Cutting-Edge Analytics

FORT WORTH, Texas, April 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is collaborating with analytics leader SAS to deliver innovative, next-generation analytics across the company's F-35, C-130J and LM-100J programs. Proven capabilities supporting Lockheed Martin programs today also serve stakeholders integrating artificial intelligence and enabling digital transformation.

Lockheed Martin's collaboration with SAS underscores the company's commitment to drive innovation that helps customers solve their toughest problems and achieve critical missions.

SAS will help Lockheed Martin place powerful analytics at sustainment experts' fingertips to create new efficiencies and ensure cross-platform collaboration is effortless. SAS analytics will infuse decision-making with new insights derived from advanced machine learning, deep learning and natural language processing.

"With the first phase of SAS technology completed, these new capabilities enable our data scientists and engineers to quickly develop self-service applications that provide a range of analytics-driven products and services with an initial focus on predictive maintenance, fleet performance management, intelligent diagnostics, and supply chain optimization," said Bruce Litchfield, vice president, Sustainment Operations, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. "The result will be more effective and efficient flight line operations."

Powered by SAS® Viya, Lockheed Martin is deploying a broad portfolio of SAS products throughout its global technology platform.

"As the industry adapts to the forces of disruptive technological change and new forms of competition, SAS stands ready to help Lockheed Martin capitalize on opportunities to deliver richer products and services from artificial intelligence, machine learning and IoT analytics deployed throughout the value chain," said Jason Mann, vice president of IoT, SAS.

Tim Matthews, vice president, F-35 Sustainment Operations, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, added, "These new capabilities will help the F-35 program deliver a total performance-based logistics sustainment solution that meets warfighter needs and significantly reduces total ownership cost."