GKN Aerospace receives order to increase production of F-35 Bulkheads

F 35 Bulkheads
The four year agreement, starting in 2018, extends production of bulkheads for the F-35 Convential Takeoff and Landing (CTOL) and Carrier Variants (CV).

GKN Aerospace and Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) are expanding a longtime customer partnership by signing a contract to increase production of bulkheads for the F-35 Lightning II program through 2023. The bulkheads are a critical structure for the conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) and carrier variants (CV). They require among the longest lead time of any F-35 part and are made from some of the largest titanium forgings of any aircraft.

The four-year contract is another milestone in a long-term business relationship between GKN Aerospace and Lockheed Martin. Today, GN Aerospace provides the F-35 with critical engine components, electrical wiring interconnection systems, the cockpit canopy and advanced composite aerostructures. It also holds contracts to deliver the in-flight opening doors and the landing gear drag brace and maintains and services the landing gear for the F-35 fleet in Europe and the Pacific.

GKN has a strong relationship with Lockheed Martin and a history of partnering with them to support the F-35 program and the warfighter effort. Our dedicated employees worked very hard to demonstrate that GKN has a proven ability to deliver high-quality parts on time. In addition, collaborative engineering efforts between GKN Aerospace and Lockheed Martin enabled us to maximize efficiencies to help reduce unit prices within the contract and support cost reductions

Mike McCann CEO of GKN Aerostructures and Systems, North America

The contract will be fulfilled at the GKN Aerospace Monitor Inc. facility in Amityville, New York and the GKN Aerospace Precision Machining, Inc. facility in Wellington, Kansas. GKN Aerospace – Monitor and Precision Machining, Inc. serve as a premier supplier of complex titanium and aluminium airframe components and assemblies for commercial and defence customers.

To learn more about the GKN technology on board the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, check out this video Here