Lockheed Martin has awarded Magellan Aerospace a contract to provide machine titanium components for its F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft.
The agreement covers the development of machined wing tie bars for the plane’s flap.
Tie bars are placed on an aircraft’s joints, curb, or shoulder parts, connecting bordering or adjoining portions to prevent separation and damage in flight.
Once delivered, the components will be applied to all three variants of the F-35: the F-35A CTOL, the F-35B STOL, and the F-35C carrier.
Work for the program will be conducted at Magellan’s facility in Kitchener, Ontario, from 2023 to 2027.
The contract is a continuation of Lockheed Martin’s partnership with the Canadian firm.
Magellan’s Kitchener site was the first international company to supply parts for the F-35. Since then, the facility has invested in critical capabilities, securing its role in the program.
“Magellan earned a role in the industrial supply chain for the Joint Strike Fighter program early in the program as the Canadian government was a partner in the program at its inception in 1997,” Magellan Business Development Vice President Haydn Martin said.
“Magellan has benefited from the opportunity to establish advanced manufacturing technologies in our facilities and is pleased to apply these innovations to support the production of the global F- 35 fleet by providing these complex structural components”.
Magellan’s Ongoing F-35 Support
In 2020, Magellan Aerospace achieved a milestone in the F-35 program by supplying the 200th set of Lightning II horizontal stabilizer shipsets.
The company has been providing the components in collaboration with BAE Systems to Lockheed Martin since 2009.
