Cockpit Demonstrator Goes On A Road Trip To Michigan
The completion of the 50th center fuselage for the F-35 Joint
Strike Fighter was marked by a ceremony at Northrop Grumman's
Palmdale Manufacturing Center this week. Company officials praised
employees for delivering the center fuselages on time and on budget
- achieving a significant milestone early in the program.
"Completing the 50th F-35 center fuselage is something to be
proud of; it's a sign of a team that is committed to getting a very
difficult job done, and done right," said Mark Tucker, vice
president and F-35 program manager for Northrop Grumman's Aerospace
Systems sector. "I'm proud that we've reached such an important
milestone, but I'm even more proud of how we've done it. This team
is always identifying ways to do an even better job of building the
world's most sophisticated multirole fighter. And, 50 ship sets in,
it's working."
As a principal and founding member of the F-35 industry team led
by Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman is responsible for the design
and production of center fuselages for all three variants of F-35
aircraft: conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL); short takeoff,
vertical landing (STOVL); and a carrier variant. Northrop Grumman
completes the F-35 center fuselages - the core structures around
which the aircraft are built - at the Palmdale facility. The center
fuselages then are shipped to Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, Texas,
where they are integrated into the rest of the aircraft.
In addition to producing the F-35 center fuselage, Northrop
Grumman also designs and produces the aircraft's radar and other
key avionics, including electro-optical and communications
subsystems; develops mission systems and mission-planning software;
leads the team's development of pilot and maintenance training
system course materials; and manages the use, support and
maintenance of low-observable technologies.
The prime contractor, meanwhile, has taken the airplane's
cockpit demonstrator on the road, showing it off to employees;
federal, state and local elected officials; Detroit-area suppliers
and the news media at Futuramic Tool and Engineering Company in
Warren, MI, a local supplier for the F-35 program.
Image Courtesy Northrop Grumman
“All of us here at Futuramic Tool and Engineering Company
are very proud of the work we do on the F-35 program,” said
Mark Jurcak, President of Futuramic Tool and Engineering. “We
appreciate this opportunity to experience first-hand why this
fighter is so important to our nation’s future. Programs like
the F-35 are not only vital to our country’s national
defense, but are helping to bring high-tech, family sustaining jobs
to companies all across Michigan. Our company is living proof of
this fact.”
During the event, executives and employees from Futuramic and
other F-35 supplier companies, elected officials and community
leaders received an update on the status of the program and had the
opportunity to “fly” the F-35 cockpit demonstrator.
Through this experience, they were able to see firsthand how
advanced stealth, fighter agility and integrated operations make
the F-35 the most capable multi-role fighter in the world. The
cockpit is visually and audibly interactive and provides a
realistic look at the F-35’s performance, air-to-air and
air-to-ground capabilities, sophisticated sensor fusion and
advanced computational capabilities.
“The F-35 program will provide the men and women of our
Armed Forces with the tools they need to maintain America’s
air dominance, and Michigan plays a very special role in that
effort,” said Stephen Callaghan, Director, F-35 Washington
Operations, Lockheed Martin. “Even at today’s early
production levels, the F-35 program generates more than 2,500 jobs
and $197 million annually in the state of Michigan. We’re
proud to share the experience of flying this 5th Generation fighter
with the men and women who are critical to its development and
manufacturing.”
U.S. Congressional Reps. Sander Levin (D-12th district), Gary
Peters (D-9th district), and Hansen Clarke (D-13th district) also
participated in the event.