New F-35 bomber showcased with cockpit simulator
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July 12, 2011
BY JENNIFER PALMER, Business Writer
The Oklahoman
7/9/2011
Vertical takeoff. Precise shooting. Victory flips. A smooth landing. Nonpilots on Thursday were able to experience all of these in a realistic cockpit demonstrator of the F-35, a bomber jet under production.
The simulator was set up at Pro-Fab Inc., 910 Morgan Road, one of the program’s suppliers. It cost $1.2 million, weighs 6,000 pounds and fills a tractor-trailer when disassembled.
Lockheed Martin is taking the demonstrator on a 30-week road show this summer to give suppliers and other stakeholders a taste of their role in the total F-35 project, which has suppliers in 47 states, directly and indirectly employing more than 127,000 people, the company said. Seven Oklahoma companies are involved, with an economic impact to the state of more than $30 million.
Pro-Fab provides more than 130 airframe components and assemblies for the F-35 program. “Having the flight demonstrator on-site provides a great interactive experience for our employees, community leaders and elected officials to gain a better understanding of F-35 platform capabilities,” said Ryan Russo, aerospace program manager at Pro-Fab.
In the works for a decade, the F-35 aircraft will be the most capable multirole fighter in the world, with advanced stealth, fighter agility and integrated information, officials said.
Daniel Conroy, director of the F-35 program for Lockheed Martin, said the company is building 2,400 F-35s for the U.S. and an additional 600 to 700 for foreign partners. This summer, the first two were delivered to Edwards Air Force Base in California. They cost about $65 million each.
F-35s will replace the Air Force’s F-16s and A-10s, the Marine Corps’ Harrier jets and older F-18s and the Navy’s older F-18s.
“They are approaching the need for life support,” Conroy said.
