A Lockheed Martin X-35A Joint Strike Fighter receives fuel from a KC-135 Stratotanker over California's Mojave Desert.
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Artist's redition.
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Lockheed Martin to Build Fighter Jet
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Pentagon (news - web
sites) chose Lockheed Martin Corp. over Boeing
Corp. on Friday to build its high-tech,
next-generation fighter jet, a contract that will be
worth at least $200 billion, the largest in Defense
Department history.
Air Force Secretary James G. Roche announced
Lockheed and its partners were the winner of a $25
billion engineering and manufacturing development
contract that eventually is expected to lead to the
go-ahead to build 3,000 supersonic F-35 jets with
radar-evading capabilities.
Roche wouldn't release details of why Lockheed was
picked but said during the review process its
proposal ``emerged continuously as the clear winner.
... We looked at performance. There was no
aesthetics, there was no beauty contest.''
He applauded both companies' efforts and said they
will be briefed in detail on the decision in coming
weeks.
Lockheed Chairman Vance Coffman said his
company would honor the trust shown by the
Pentagon ``by building a truly remarkable, capable
and affordable multirole fighter, on schedule and on
cost.''
Boeing Chairman Phil Condit said the contract loss
will cause the company to lower its revenue forecast
by a $1 billion next year, to about $55 billion. He
expressed hope Lockheed would seek help from
Boeing for the project. Lockheed officials said that's
a possibility.
The F-35 will replace the aging fighter jets of the Air
Force, Navy and Marines, albeit with modifications to
fit the needs of each branch. It also will be used by
Britain's Royal Air Force and Navy, which want 150
of the planes. Britain has committed $2 billion toward
development.
The first 22 planes are to be delivered in 2008.
Lockheed and Boeing waged a long and costly
advertising and lobbying campaign for the contract,
which establishes Lockheed as the nation's sole
fighter jet manufacturer.
Lockheed, based in Bethesda, Md., has said the
contract would add up to 9,000 jobs at its Lockheed
Martin Aeronautics division in Fort Worth, Texas,
which currently employs 11,000. Employees there
gathered to watch the announcement and burst into
cheers when Lockheed was chosen.
Lockheed will develop the jet with Northrup
Grumman Corp. and BAE Systems of Great Britain.
Work will be done at facilities in 27 states and Great
Britain, with major subassemblies in El Segundo,
Calif., and Samlesbury, England, and final assembly
at Fort Worth.
Chicago-based Boeing had predicted it would add
3,000 new jobs for its Seattle facility and another
3,000 engineering jobs and 2,000 production jobs at
its St. Louis plant.
Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., said the Pentagon was wrong
to place the future of America's air defenses with just
one company. Bond said he may offer legislation that
would require the military to split production
between the companies to keep Boeing in the fighter
business.
``It would be a national security disaster if we allowed
that repository of unique engineering know-how to
be scattered to the four winds,'' Bond said.
Analysts said Boeing may be in a better position to
weather the contract loss. It is developing an
unmanned combat aircraft that could be highly
lucrative and, unlike Lockheed, it has a commercial
airline business. It also has contracts with the
Pentagon to continue building F-18s and F-22s until
2011.
Lockheed shares surged 6 percent in after-hours
trading after finishing the regular session on the New
York Stock Exchange (news - web sites) at $49.92,
up $1.02. Boeing shares fell 7 percent after finishing
trading up $1.78 to $37.68, also on the NYSE.
The Defense Department gave Boeing and
Lockheed $660 million each in 1996 for research and
development of prototypes that could take off
quickly, land vertically and on carrier decks, throw
off radar and provide all the high-tech cockpit
gadgetry demanded by modern warfare.
The plane is designed to replace the Air Force's
F-16 and A-10, the Navy's F/A-18 and the Marine
Corps' AV-8B Harrier.
Boeing's test model, dubbed the X-32, is more
compact than Lockheed's X-35. The X-32 has a
gaping air intake on the front and dual lift nozzles
underneath, while the X-35 achieves its short
takeoffs and vertical landings with a single thruster
and a lift fan at the top of the plane.
Both Boeing and Lockheed's planes for the Marines,
the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy can land
vertically. Versions for the Air Force and Navy are
designed to land conventionally.
Each F-35 will cost about $40 million. The version
with the ability for short takeoff and vertical landings
will cost more, but less than $50 million.
The General Accounting Office (news - web sites),
Congress' investigative arm, twice warned the jet
could end up costing more, take longer to build and
have performance problems because the
technologies need more development. The
Pentagon has said its independent investigation
found the technologies are adequate.
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