Boeing Shows Prototypes of New Fighter
Boeing Co. unveiled its X-32 Joint Strike Fighter prototypes Tuesday, meeting an early--and largely symbolic--objective in the race to beat out Lockheed Martin Corp. for the richest defense contract in U.S. history.
Five hundred Boeing employees, some shedding tears, stood and clapped as the pair of ghost-gray delta-winged aircraft made their debut in the morning chill at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale.
Boeing Chairman and Chief Executive Philip Condit praised company engineers and design teams for progress on two slightly different concept planes, the X-32A and X-32B.
“What this ceremony was really all about was the people who designed it,” Condit said afterward. “I like where we are. But the competition won’t be won here. It will be won with the proposal we put in.”
Company executives said that after preliminary systems testing, the X-32s will be ready for flight tests sometime next spring. Boeing still must complete tests of the engines and flight-control systems.
The Defense Department will select a winner in early 2001 for what is expected to be a program worth $750 billion over the next 30 years.
The government is counting on Boeing and Lockheed to develop the new fighter with flexible features, such as the ability to make a transition from conventional to vertical flight, make carrier landings and to use common avionics systems to contain costs.
The aircraft’s name, Joint Strike Fighter, derives from the fact that it would be used by different branches of the service. It is intended to replace such military workhorses as the Air Force F-16 and A-10, the Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier and the Navy A-6. The first planes are scheduled to be delivered in 2007.
And depending on the military’s needs, the JFS would be able to carry a full complement of weapons, including air-to-ground and air-to-air missiles and a 27-millimeter cannon.
Boeing and Lockheed are each receiving $700 million under a contract to develop the prototypes in Palmdale, where both companies operate advanced research and development programs. Test flights are expected to take place at nearby Edwards Air Force Base.
Boeing would build its fighters in St. Louis, and Lockheed Martin would assemble its version in Fort Worth, the companies say.
But Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-Santa Clarita) has introduced legislation that would require a federal study of the possible savings of producing the planes locally.
Whatever the outcome, about 3,000 planes would be built for the U.S. military and 2,000 more for overseas customers, including the British Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. The planes would cost $28 million to $38 million each, depending in part on how many are produced and how they are equipped.
Boeing spokesman Michael Tull said the $750-billion value of the contract over 30 years includes the planes, parts and subcontracted work and is adjusted for inflation.
A final decision on who wins the contract is just more than a year off, but one aerospace analyst said it is still too early to tell which company will prevail in its bid for the JSF.
“When you find both sides fighting the [publicity] battle, there’s a lot to lose,” said Jon B. Kutler, president of Quarterdeck Investment Partners Inc., a Los Angeles firm that analyzes the aerospace business. “You will see both sides take advantage to announce any milestone. You won’t hear about the setbacks.”
The Boeing prototypes were assembled at its Phantom Works hanger at Air Force Plant 42. Lockheed Martin is putting together its prototype, the X-35, nearby at its Skunk Works complex.
The Skunk Works, formerly based in Burbank, turned out such legendary aircraft as the U-2 and SR-71 spy planes and the F-117 stealth fighter.
Lockheed spokesman Gary Grigg said the Skunk Works is proceeding on schedule with development of its prototype.
The company announced Monday that it had successfully installed an engine in the first prototype last week, but it does not plan to roll out the prototype aircraft until spring--when it will be ready to fly.
“We are on schedule in the development of our X-35 demonstrator aircraft,” Grigg said. “At that point, we plan to show our customer and the American public a fully assembled aircraft that has completed all ground testing and is ready to take to the skies.”
But on Tuesday, it was Boeing’s turn in the limelight as Air Force Plant 42 hosted employees who traveled from Tulsa, Okla., Seattle and St. Louis. As many as 5,000 others took part in the event via satellite.
As many as 86 Boeing employees worked on the project in Palmdale, Tull said.
Suspense built until the planes were unveiled from behind a black curtain at the massive hanger. Then the crowd erupted in cheers.
Jack E. Jones, a Boeing employee in St. Louis, summed up the program by saying: “You specify the performance of a Porsche, the styling of a Mercedes and the price of a Chevrolet. That’s what this is.”
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Joint Strike Fighter
Boeing X-32 JSF prototype
Military aircraft in use: 3 versions of JSF would replace these fighters, among others:
* Estimated first year of JSF serviceSource: Boeing Co.
