Latest news with #ChaunceyMcIntosh
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Norway Becomes First F-35 Partner Nation to Fulfill its Program of Record
FORT WORTH, Texas, April 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) today completed the delivery of the 51st and 52nd F-35As to the Royal Norwegian Air Force, making Norway the first F-35 partner nation to fulfill its program of record. "The F-35 is the world's best fighter jet and I am very pleased that we will receive the last of the 52 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin that Norway has ordered," said Tore O. Sandvik, Norwegian Minister of Defence. "The aircraft ensure that we can safeguard Norwegian sovereignty and maintain even better control over our areas on land, at sea and in the air." The advanced capabilities and increased interoperability of the F-35 enhances Norway's sovereign defense and cooperation with key allies across Europe, including its closest neighbors in the Nordic region. The F-35 fleet will play a critical role in protecting the High North and supporting NATO missions. "Norway's F-35 fleet enhances interoperability across the Norwegian Armed Forces' defense systems, improving situational awareness of the entire force and strengthening transatlantic security," said Chauncey McIntosh, vice president and general manager of the F-35 program at Lockheed Martin. "We are honored to build upon our more than 50-year partnership with Norway, ensuring the Royal Norwegian Air Force remains ahead of emerging threats to protect security for Norway and its allies for decades to come." As the cornerstone of the battlespace for 20 allied nations, the F-35 enables peace through strength in the 21st century. With over a million flight hours and a global fleet of more than 1,150 aircraft and growing, the F-35 provides unrivaled capabilities, strengthening deterrence for allies around the world. F-35s operate from 48 bases worldwide, including 10 nations operating on home soil. As adversaries rapidly advance technology, the F-35's unmatched connectivity and ability to work in partnership with assets operating across land, sea, air, space and cyber is essential to securing the skies today and into the future. About Lockheed Martin Lockheed Martin is a global defense technology company driving innovation and advancing scientific discovery. Our all-domain mission solutions and 21st Century Security® vision accelerate the delivery of transformative technologies to ensure those we serve always stay ahead of ready. More information at View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Sign in to access your portfolio
Mid East Info
05-03-2025
- Business
- Mid East Info
F-35 Global Fleet Dominates the Sky, Surpasses 1 Million Flight Hours - Middle East Business News and Information
Today, Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] announced that the global F-35 fleet has surpassed 1 million flight hours, further proof of the program's size and strength in ensuring America's warfighter and those of our allies maintain air dominance around the world. 'Reaching 1 million flight hours is a monumental achievement for the F-35 program. It highlights the unwavering dedication of our pilots, maintainers, industry partners and our international partners and foreign military sales customers,' said Lt. Gen. Michael Schmidt, Program Executive Officer for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office. 'This milestone is not just a testament to the F-35's unmatched capability, but also to the resilience and commitment of everyone involved in this program. As we continue to expand the fleet and advance the F-35's capabilities, we are ensuring the warfighters of today and tomorrow have the most advanced, reliable, and effective tool to protect our nations.' Throughout the 1 million hours flown, the F-35 team has significantly enhanced the capabilities of the F-35 and achieved many unprecedented aviation firsts with the world's most advanced fighter aircraft. 'The F-35 is the backbone of the allied force, enabling peace through strength in the 21st century,' said Chauncey McIntosh, vice president and general manager of the F-35 Lightning II program at Lockheed Martin. 'As we look to the future, we are focused on continuing to increase the capabilities of the F-35 to ensure we stay ahead of adversarial threats.' The 1 million flight hours includes combat operations now completed by all F-35 variants following the F-35C being deployed in combat for the first time in November 2024, successfully striking targets in contested airspace. The F-35 team is now focused on the next 1 million hours to be flown by the growing global fleet of more than 1,100 jets, ensuring the F-35 maintains its air superiority role and remains the cornerstone of air dominance as it works in tandem with other 4th, 5th and next-gen platforms. This includes the capability to control drones, including the U.S. Air Force's future fleet of Collaborative Combat Aircraft. 'Not only is it the world's most advanced fighter jet, the F-35 also makes those fighting with it better by connecting the battlespace, ensuring the warfighter gets home safely,' McIntosh added. About Lockheed Martin: Lockheed Martin is a global defense technology company driving innovation and advancing scientific discovery. Our all-domain mission solutions and 21st Century Security® vision accelerate the delivery of transformative technologies to ensure those we serve always stay ahead of ready.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
F-35s to get new capabilities with summer software update
AURORA, Colo. — Lockheed Martin hopes to begin rolling out early Block 4 capabilities to the F-35 this summer, a senior company official said Monday. Chauncey McIntosh, vice president and general manager of Lockheed's F-35 program, said at the Air and Space Forces Association's AFA Warfare Symposium here that the company plans to drop an update to the F-35′s Technology Refresh 3 software, which will enable new features. The TR-3 software update will bring the aircraft type closer to being able to fly in combat, he said. 'Our warfighters are going to see a much higher increase of stability in that software' once the update is in place, McIntosh said. TR-3 is a series of upgrades to the F-35′s computer memory, processing power, and displays, which are intended to make the jet more capable and pave the way for a subsequent series of more substantial improvements known as Block 4. McIntosh said in a briefing with reporters Monday that Block 4 will bring the F-35 improved sensors, better sensor fusion, and an expanded array of weapons the fighter can carry. In an interview with Defense News after the briefing, McIntosh declined to specify which Block 4 upgrades are on their way later this year, saying the details are secret. 'There are some things coming that the warfighter is going to be excited to receive,' he said. A previous Block 4 capability that was dramatically accelerated in the F-35 was the adoption of the automatic ground collision avoidance system, or auto-GCAS. That life-saving technology automatically pulls a jet up if the pilot is unresponsive and the jet senses it is diving into the ground. Officials began installing the capability in 2019. TR-3′s rollout was snarled by lingering software and hardware problems that caused the government to refuse deliveries of dozens of new F-35s for about a year. The delivery halt was lifted in July 2024, after Lockheed Martin developed an interim version of the TR-3 software that would allow pilots to fly training missions, and then combat training. But the jets are still not able to fly in combat, and the government is withholding millions of dollars from Lockheed until the jets are certified to be combat capable. The F-35 Joint Program Office said earlier this year that it hopes the TR-3 jets will be combat capable by the end of 2025, but Lockheed's chief financial officer said in a January earnings call that it might slip to early 2026. It remains unclear whether F-35s will reach full combat capability this year. McIntosh said it will be up to the military services and international partners flying the jets to decide whether they are ready for combat. He did not directly answer when asked whether Lockheed will be able to deliver all the elements needed for a combat-ready designation by the end of this year. Lockheed expects to deliver between 170 and 190 F-35s this year, as it works through the backlog from the TR-3 delays. That would be up from the roughly 110 it delivered in 2024. McIntosh told reporters Lockheed and the government expect to define the terms of the next F-35 contract, for Lot 18 of the jets, in the second quarter of 2025. Although that contract has not yet been definitized, he said, the company is keeping the rising costs of the jet under inflation. He highlighted the price of steel as one example of a material that goes into an F-35 that has seen significant inflation in recent years. When asked how the Trump administration's 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum might affect the F-35 program, McIntosh said Lockheed is monitoring their economic effects. He declined to speculate on how Lockheed might respond to tariff-driven increases in the supply chain, but said in the past the company has sought to find new ways to get cheaper materials, such as hunting for alternative vendors or adopting different buying techniques.
