Jane Edwards
Lockheed Martin has issued a request for information as it considers whether to recompete the F-35 aircraft’s communications, navigation and identification equipment and electronic warfare platform in order to reduce the systems’ lifecycle costs, Defense News reported July 10.
“We’re evaluating right now the RFI responses and determining if it’s a good time to go do a competition and what would that competition entail,â€Â said Eric Branyan, vice president for F-35 supply chain management at Lockheed.
BAE Systems currently provides EW systems for the fighter aircraft, while Northrop Grumman supplies CNI platforms for F-35.
Banyan said the move is also part of the defense contractor’s efforts to reduce the cost of the F-35A model to approximately $80 million per unit.
Lockheed plans to decide by the end of this year whether to launch a competition for the fighter jet’s CNI and EW systems.
The report noted that the company has recompeted the F-35’s cockpit display and memory systems as well as the distributed aperture system.
Lockheed tapped Raytheon in June to develop DAS, a sensor technology that works to provide threat detection and situational awareness capabilities for F-35 pilots.
