LM-100J 'FIREHERC' INTRODUCED
Lockheed Martin has introduced the LM-100J "FireHerc," a civil-certified firefighting airtanker variant of the C-130J Super Hercules. C-130s — legacy Hercules, Super Hercules and L-100s — have flown millions of hours in support of missions for military and civilian operators around the world for 60+ years, which includes supporting firefighting missions for more than 40 years. The LM-100J Fire Herc builds on this ‘proven experience and offers advanced capabilities to support aerial firefighting requirements for decades to come’.
91 F-35’s to be delivered in 2018
“There is good news for militaries waiting to add the F-35 to their arsenal: The fighter jet’s availability rate has risen sharply in recent years and is projected to rise even further while sustainability costs are trending downward. Lockheed Martin has so far delivered 309 F-35s and is set to deliver 91 this year”, stated Greg Ulmer, vice-president and general manager for the F-35 programme. In 2011, the company delivered nine aircraft. “Last year, we delivered 66 and this year, we are delivering 91 airplanes; halfway through the year, we are right on target.”
As part of increasing the production rate, the company plans to deliver 120 planes in 2019 and 145 in 2020. The number is set to jump further to about 160 by 2023. The fighter currently has 12 customers globally and 15 bases. Korea and Turkey will celebrate the arrival of the first F-35 next year. The company wants to reduce the industry component of the F-35’s operation and sustainment costs by as much as 38% over the next 10 years. Belgium, Germany and Finland are expected to acquire the combat aircraft, which made its combat debut recently with the Israel Defence Force . The company has submitted an RIF for Switzerland.
Australia Takes Delivery of 10th JSF
The tenth F-35A Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) to be delivered to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has arrived at US Air Force Luke Air Force Base (AFB) in Arizona, joining Australia’s other JSF aircraft on the flightline. Minister for Defence, Christopher Pyne MP and the Minister for Defence Industry, the Steven Ciobo MP said the delivery of Australia’s tenth JSF was an important milestone in the Australian JSF Project. “Our tenth JSF was delivered to RAAF’s No. 3 Squadron at Luke AFB following a range of acceptance testing activities authorising delivery,” Minister Pyne stated.
300th THAAD Interceptor delivered
Lockheed Martin delivered the 300th interceptor for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system, the only system in the world designed to intercept threats both inside and outside the atmosphere. The production maturity milestone comes as demand for the company’s hit-to-kill missile defense system and interceptors continues to grow. A key element of the Ballistic Missile Defence System (BMDS), THAAD protects America’s military, allied forces, citizen population centers and critical infrastructure from short and medium-range ballistic missile attacks. THAAD is proven, with 100 percent mission success in flight testing, is rapidly deployable, interoperable with other BMDS elements including the PAC-3 Missile, Aegis, forward based sensors and the Command, Control, Battle Management and Communications (C2BMC) system.