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Asian Aerosplash: Lockheed Reports JSF &
T-50 Progress, F-16 Milestones
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics is making perhaps its biggest-ever
splash at Asian Aerospace, dominating the gateway to the show
with a full-scale mockup of the X-35 Joint Strike Fighter, just
across the pavement from the company's big "Partnership Pavilion."
The Lockheed-led JSF team, which includes Northrop Grumman, last
month welcomed Canada to the aircraft development program, a step
that will give the Canadian military a chance to influence the
final JSF design. Other countries, among them Denmark, Italy,
the Netherlands, Norway, and Turkey, may join in too.
The JSF X-35 is a single-engine supersonic fighter designed to
replace such aging aircraft as the A-10, F-14, AV-8B Harrier,
and older F-16s and F/A-18s.
Lockheed and its partner for the new T-50 Golden Eagle trainer,
Korea Aerospace Industries, are disclosing a new MoU with Israeli
Aircraft Industries here his week. The deal is expected to lead
to significant sales of the Korean-built jet trainer/attack aircraft
to Israel.
The KAI-Lockheed Martin team began static load testing of the
T-50 at Daejon early this year. Besides its own combat capabilities
(in the A-50 lead-in/light attack variant), the T-50 will be able
to prepare pilots for the latest F-16s and the new F-22 and JSF
aircraft.
The F-16 Falcon, arguably the most successful combat bird ever,
with cumulative sales of nearly 4,350 aircraft in 23 countries,
is expected to notch its 10 millionth flight hour this week. Lockheed
expects a new, $1.3 billion sale of 52 F-16s to Israel to keep
production active at least through 2010, while the company simultaneously
upgrades both U.S. Air Force and European F-16s to keep them competitive
with aircraft from European and Russian manufacturers. F-16s for
the United Arab Emirates-80 of them, dubbed the "Desert Falcon"-are
being built to Block 60 standards and as such will be among the
most capable of all.
Lockheed is also writing new business in large aircraft, recently
placing the first "stretched" C-130J, the C-130J-30,
with the U.S. Air Force. The J30 Hercules can carry 128 combat
troops instead of a standard C-130J's 92, and eight standard 463L
pallets rather than six.
By Rich Piellisch
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