Lockheed Martin has been awarded a US$472m contract modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee contract to further develop and integrate three new weapons capabilities on the F-35A and F-35B aircraft, respectively operated by Italy and the UK.
In a June 21 announcement by the US Department of Defense (DoD), work will be split evenly between the US and UK, latterly at sites in Stevenage (36%), Samlesbury (12%) and Harlow (2%). The US Naval Air Systems Command was named as the contracting authority.
European missile manufacturer MBDA has a facility in Stevenage while BAE Systems’ Samlesbury site is central to the UK’s contribution to the F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter. It is not known whether either of these companies will be involved with the new weapons integration.
Although the weapon types were not disclosed by the DoD, in January this year the UK signed a £550m contract with MBDA to equip its F-35B Lightning II fighters with the Select Precision Effects At Range missile No.3 (SPEAR3) capability.
A January 21 release from the Royal Navy, which operates the F-35B aircraft along with the RAF as a joint force, stated the SPEAR3 missile would be integrated to front line units over the next seven years. With a range of more than 140km, SPEAR3 is powered at high subsonic speeds by a turbojet engine, and can operate across land and sea, day or night, for strikes on moving and stationary targets.
Testing, simulation and trials will include controlled firings from a Typhoon aircraft before the missile is delivered to Marham and the Portsmouth-based carriers for front line operations.
An MBDA release at the time said that guided firings of SPEAR3 will start within 18 months from a Eurofighter Typhoon fighter aircraft, with missile and launcher production beginning in 2023.
