F_I_2015_03_17_23

flightglobal.com 17-23 March 2015 | Flight International | 25

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on the F-35 programme to what Lockheed has

deemed one of the highest. This is due to a

focus on controlling quality, affordability and

efficiency.

The F-35 is being manufactured in three

variants, and the production line at Samles-

bury is designed to deal with all three types.

The CTOL variant is currently the most re-

petitive, so is the easiest to move down the

line as more have been built. BAE is, however,

preparing for more work on the carrier variant

F-35C – which has a larger and strengthened

structure – as more orders for the type are

made by the US Navy.

Although its F-35 participation is signifi-

cant in terms of revenue and international ex-

posure, Christie explains that from a design

retention perspective, it is not going to make

much of a contribution to adding to BAE’s

skill set.

SKILLS

“F-35 – that sustained some capability, but it

was focused on a few areas and you need to

sustain all of the skill sets,” he says. “And

then that has an impact on sovereign capabil-

ity – if the customer has a problem in a par-

ticular area you might just need every single

skill set at some point.”

The company is also carrying out a series of

upgrades on the Typhoon, for which BAE is

one of three industrial partners in the Eu-

rofighter consortium, along with Airbus De-

fence & Space and Alenia Aermacchi. The

programme is now entering its final Tranche

3A delivery phase, with fresh export sales

needed to sustain it further.

“We are at the stage at the moment where

we’re developing the design on Typhoon, the

design of which we started back in the 1980s,

and if we had to design a new aircraft – be it a

UAV [unmanned air vehicle] or manned air-

craft – we’d have to bring to bear all of that

skill from the 1980s.”

In February, Eurofighter nations Germany,

Italy, Spain and the UK signed a contract

worth some €200 million ($218 million) for a

Phase 3 capability enhancement (P3E) pack-

age, intended to strengthen the type’s multi-

role credentials.

The company is preparing

for more work on the carrier

variant F-35C for the US Navy

BAE will use its experience from

the Taranis UCAV demonstrator

development in work with France

BAE Systems

US Navy

JSF production

work is accelerating