Lockheed Martin Corp. was awarded a $148.4 million contract for durability testing support of F-35B aircraft for the U.S. Marine Corps, the Defense Department announced.

The company's Lockheed Martin Aeronautics division will oversee the test configuration, test article build, the test plan, the testing itself, and teardown and analysis of the vertical-takeoff-and-landing variant of the plane to ascertain its minimum projected 8,000 flight hours/30-year service life, the Pentagon said Friday.

The order, arranged against a previously issued basic offering agreement, is in support of U.S. Marine Corps and non-Department of Defense aircraft.

Lockheed Martin is the builder of all three F-35 Lightning II variants, including the vertical take-off and landing version for the Marines. The air forces of five countries fly the VTOL variant or have ordered them.

A total of 435 F-35s have been built in the three configurations, and Lockheed Martin anticipates building hundreds more, though a week ago a Pentagon official said a new delay in testing the plane could keep the aircraft from full production status for up to 13 more months.

The new Navy contract calls for work at Lockheed Martin facilities in Texas, California and Britain to be completed by July 2032.

Related Links
Aerospace News at SpaceMart.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Air Force F-15Es arrive in United Arab Emirates
Washington DC (UPI) Oct 24, 2019
F-15E Strike Eagle fighter planes arrived at Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, last week to support ongoing operations in the Middle East, the U.S. Air Force announced. Citing operational security concerns, the Air Force did not specify how many planes arrived, but they join F-35A Lightning II, KC-10 Extender, E-3 Sentry, and RQ-4 Global Hawk aircraft at the base. In a statement on Wednesday, U.S. Air Forces Central Command said the deployment is a "in support of ongoing operatio ... read more