LE BOURGET, FRANCE — Magellan Aerospace announces the award of multi-year buys of complex machined titanium components for all three variants of the F-35 Lightening II aircraft — the Conventional Take-Off and Landing (CTOL), the Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) and the Carrier Variant (CV). This $60M USD contract will be carried out at Magellan Aerospace's Chicopee Manufacturing division in Kitchener, Ontario, during the period of 2009 to 2015. The shipsets will be comprised of components for machined wing tie bars for the leading edge flap installation and aft engine thrust mounts.
This latest contract is a continuation of a long-established relationship with Lockheed Martin on the JSF program. Chicopee Manufacturing was the first international partner on the JSF program to deliver parts to the then-fledging project in late 2003.
Chicopee Manufacturing has expertise in titanium machining operations with an emphasis on high-speed machining of hard metals such as titanium, Inconel, and stainless steel.
The Joint Strike Fighter program will develop and manufacture the next generation fighter aircraft for the U.S. Navy, Air Force, and Marines, and for export to U.S. allies. In 2001 the U.S. Department of Defense named the Lockheed Martin JSF team as the winner of the contract to develop the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, TX, is the F-35 prime contractor while Northrop-Grumman in El Segundo, CA, and BAE Systems (British Aerospace) in Samelsbury, UK, are principal partners in the project.
