Rockwell Teams With Lockheed on AX Attack Jet
Rockwell International disclosed Sunday that it has formed a team with Lockheed’s Advanced Development Co. in Burbank, better known as the Skunk Works, to compete for the Navy’s $50-billion AX attack jet program.
Since Lockheed is already a member of two other industry teams through its Georgia aircraft operation, the company has created an unusual competition between its own units.
Rockwell has not had a major aircraft production program since the B-1B bomber production ended in the mid-1980s. While many defense officials have assumed that the company is out of aircraft production, Rockwell executives have long asserted that they have not forsaken the business and believe that their Southern California location will be an advantage.
The Navy’s massive AX program offers the beleaguered Southern California industry one of the few prospects for a major new program over the next decade.
Rockwell will hold a majority stake in the venture and will lead the team, but company spokesman William Mellon said Lockheed’s participation will be “significant.”
The alignment of Rockwell and the Lockheed Skunk Works is unusual because the two firms are so vastly different in their styles and business philosophies.
Neither organization has participated to a great extent in industry teaming arrangements. And neither firm participated in the A-12, the predecessor to the AX that was canceled earlier this year.
The Skunk Works specializes in secret work on experimental aircraft such as the F-117 and the SR-71 and in small-quantity production. Meanwhile, Rockwell projects tend to be very high profile, big money and politically controversial, such as the B-1B bomber and the space shuttle.
The two firms have specialized in very high-speed aircraft, building the only jets capable of sustained speeds above Mach 3.
A Rockwell announcement that will be released today emphasizes another similarity between the two aircraft operations: They are both in Southern California. Rockwell officials suggested that the AX project could be a litmus test of whether California officials could get behind local contractors and offer the same degree of political support that other regions do.
“We will have a tremendous advantage in utilizing our facilities,” said Sam Iacobellis, Rockwell executive vice president. “We have worked together with Lockheed more than one would think. Lockheed did the stress analysis for the B-1.”
Iacobellis said the talks between Rockwell and Lockheed began earlier this year when he contacted Ben Rich, former Skunk Works chief.
Both Rockwell and Lockheed have major aircraft production facilities in Palmdale. Although Rockwell did not specifically identify Palmdale as the production site, it would be the most logical place.
The Rockwell announcement said the two companies have already submitted to the Navy a proposal for the “concept exploration and definition” phase of the program, a 10-month study.
The Rockwell-Lockheed proposal contains a detailed AX design that is not based on any existing aircraft made by the two firms, Iacobellis said. Rockwell produced 380 trainer aircraft for the Navy in the 1970s and 200 naval bombers in the 1960s, he noted.
He added that Rockwell remains committed to the military aircraft business. “We shouldn’t be counted out.”
The Rockwell announcement said the proposal is based on research and development studies conducted by the two firms. Mellon, the Rockwell spokesman, could not say how long the studies have been going on.
The Navy wants to buy 575 AX aircraft. A jumble of aerospace firms have formed teams to bid on the AX project. They include:
* Lockheed, Boeing and General Dynamics.
* Grumman, Lockheed and Boeing.
* McDonnell Douglas and LTV.
* General Dynamics, McDonnell Douglas and Northrop.
