Northrop Grumman completes first Norwegian F-35 centre fuselage
Above: Technicians at Northrop Grumman's Palmdale (Calif.) Aircraft Integration Center of Excellence conduct final quality inspections on the centre fuselage for AM-1, the first F-35 joint strike fighter produced for Norway. The unit, was subsequently completed 9 December and mated with major structural components of the aircraft by F-35 prime contractor Lockheed Martin.
Northrop Grumman Corporation has completed the centre fuselage for the first F-35 Lightning II aircraft to be ordered by Norway, a conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variant designated AM-1.
The company celebrated the production milestone – completed on budget and on schedule – with a brief ceremony 4 December at its Palmdale Aircraft Integration Center of Excellence, the site of its F-35 Integrated Assembly Line (IAL). Royal Norwegian Air Force Col. Odd-Steiner Haugen, the Norwegian national deputy in the F-35 joint programme office, attended the ceremony on behalf of the Norwegian government.
"Today's event marks another key delivery on the F-35 team's promise to produce a fifth-generation, multirole fighter that can meet the common air combat requirements of the US and its allies," said Brian Chappel, vice president and F-35 programme manager, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems. "Using our Integrated Assembly Line, we're continuing to reduce the time and cost required to produce an F-35 centre fuselage. Our success is helping the industry team meet the operational need dates of our international partners."
Above: Royal Norwegian Air Force Col. Odd-Steinar Haugen, the Norwegian national deputy in the F-35 joint program office, signs the AM-1 center fuselage as part of the ceremonial delivery ceremony hosted 4 December by Northrop Grumman.
The centre fuselage is the core structure around which every F-35 joint strike fighter aircraft is built. As a principal member of the Lockheed Martin-led F-35 industry team, Northrop Grumman designed and produces the centre fuselage for all three F-35 variants: CTOL, short takeoff vertical landing (STOVL) and the carrier variant (CV).
The AM-1 centre fuselage is the first of 52 centre fuselages that Northrop Grumman will produce for Norway. It is the 166th center fuselage that the company has produced at its Palmdale site and the 34th such unit delivered to Lockheed Martin this year.
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics will perform final assembly and checkout of the Norwegian F-35s in Fort Worth, Texas. The process includes mating the centre fuselage to the forward fuselage/cockpit and wings produced by Lockheed Martin and the aft fuselage and empennage produced by BAE Systems.
The IAL is a highly automated set of work cells developed to assemble – efficiently, affordably and with high precision – the centre fuselage for all three variants of the F-35 joint strike fighter. It occupies more than 200,000 square feet of factory floor space and includes more than 700 tools required to operate 78 positions.
In addition to producing the jet's centre fuselage, Northrop Grumman produces key F-35 radar, electro-optical, avionics and communications subsystems. It also develops mission systems and mission-planning software; develops and maintains pilot and maintainer training systems courseware; and manages the team's use, support and maintenance of low-observable technologies.
