Alcoa to Supply Titanium for Lockheed’s F-35; Klaus Kleinfeld Comments

Lockheed Martin has awarded a potential nine-year, $1.1 billion subcontract to Alcoa for titanium plate and billet components on the F-35 fighter jet from 2016 to 2024.

Lockheed will use the titanium build the airframe structures for F-35 variants such as the conventional takeoff and landing aircraft, short takeoff/vertical landing aircraft and the carrier variant, Alcoa said Wednesday.

“We are expanding Alcoa’s range of multi-material offerings for this program while helping Lockheed Martin meet aggressive weight, range and fuel efficiency targets,” said Klaus Kleinfeld, Alcoa chairman and CEO.

Alcoa will also forge the CTOL variant’s backbone using the metal under a separate contract.

Lockheed plans to build 13 F-35 aircraft per month by the mid-2020s.