Moving Line Could Save $300 Million for Lockheed Martin
Why not? It worked for
Henry Ford.
The first-ever continuous moving assembly line for a combat
fighter jet is under consideration by the Lockheed Martin F-35
Joint Strike Fighter team.
Adopting such an approach could increase production efficiency,
reduce floor space and avoid an estimated $300 million in expenses
over the life of the program.
"Affordability is the cornerstone on which the JSF program is
built, and we're beginning to see how a continuous moving assembly
line could help us meet our commitment to keep costs low," said Tom
Burbage, Lockheed Martin executive vice president and F-35 JSF
program general manager.
"We are in the process of weighing the up-front investments
against the long-term returns. So far, we like what we see."
In late January, members of the F-35 production team from
Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and BAE SYSTEMS gathered on the
Lockheed Martin factory floor in Fort Worth to begin laying out a
preliminary plan for a continuous moving line. Using a full-scale
F-35 model, the team simulated processes for installing aircraft
systems as the jet crept along an imaginary track.
"The last time this plant saw a moving assembly line, it was
pumping out B-24s at tremendous rates during World War II," Burbage
said. "Since then, the moving-line concept has been greatly
refined, and is now used in the assembly of some large, commercial
airliners.
The F-35 program is all about innovation, so if ours were the
first fighter jet to be built on a continuous moving line, it would
simply be following an established path of product
advancement."
Current-generation fighters are constructed on a "pulsed" or
"bay-build" assembly line. Proponents of continuous moving lines
say they not only improve efficiency, but force assembly problems
to the surface, where they can be identified quickly and fixed
permanently. The greater efficiency plays into the F-35's planned
high rate of production -- up to one aircraft per day and at least
2,593 planes total.
The F-35 program
continues on schedule for Critical Design Review of the
conventional-takeoff-and-landing variant, as well as the systems
common to all variants, in April.
The F-35 is a stealthy, supersonic multirole fighter designed to
replace a wide range of aging fighter and strike aircraft. Three
variants derived from a common design will ensure F-35 meets the
performance needs of the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy and
allied defense forces worldwide, while staying within strict
affordability targets.
Lockheed Martin is developing the F-35 in conjunction with its
principal industrial partners, Northrop Grumman and BAE SYSTEMS.
Companies worldwide are participating in the F-35's development.
Among the aircraft the F-35 will replace are the AV-8B Harrier,
A-10, F-16, F/A-18 and United Kingdom's Harrier GR.7 and Sea
Harrier.