F-35 AME Management & Sustainment
Marvin Engineering has served as a partner to Lockheed Martin on the F-35 Lightning II/JSF Program since 2003, overseeing the Alternate Mission Equipment (AME) package produced for this 5th Generation aircraft by MEC as well as 5 international partners in Australia, Denmark, Italy, Norway and Turkey.
The Challenges
Under the agreement, MEC directly produces the F-35’s Air-to-Ground Pylon, Alternate Air-to-Air Pylon and Alternate Advanced Rail Launcher (AARL).
Lockheed Martin Aerospace is the prime contractor responsible for the F-35 Lightning II, which is the most advanced 5th Generation aircraft in the world. The current program of record calls for over 3,100 F-35 aircraft across 3 distinct models to be procured by a dozen different countries, with the U.S. Air Force alone accounting for more than half of the aircraft.
Responsiblity
MEC is responsible for qualifying all AME produced by the suppliers prior to delivery to the end customer and has hosted nine F-35 Alternate Mission Equipment Summits since 2004, with the 9th held in October 2017. These events bring together industry participants from throughout the supply chain, as well as representatives from the U.S. and foreign governments.
THE SOLUTION
MEC has utilized its considerable manufacturing experience and in-house expertise with armament test to assist the international partners in their production planning and delivery schedules. MEC has also held to date nine F-35 AME Summits which bring together the 5 international partners, plus key suppliers, Lockheed Martin personnel, and often representatives from the military to discuss issues around the manufacture of the equipment and to prepare for the growing quantities of product necessary to support accelerated aircraft deliveries.
RESULTS
For 15 years, MEC has capably served as the AME Managing Partner on behalf of Lockheed Martin. In this role, the Company has overseen the production and delivery of hundreds of pieces of equipment through the various lots of Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP), without any major delays or disruptions. With the aircraft to enter full production rates in 2019, and the corresponding ramp up of associated AME, MEC continues to ensure reliable delivery of essential warfighting equipment to its customer and the end users.