Ferra and Lockheed Martin Establish Titanium Manufacturing Facility

29 Jun 10

Lockheed Martin and Brisbane-based Ferra Engineering executives have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to establish a direct manufacturing facility in Australia for JSF vertical tail production.

For the last four years, Ferra has been building weapons adaptor assemblies for the F-35 in the Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) stage of the program.

The new facility will allow for a new titanium machining technology that dramatically reduces the amount of waste titanium and time taken to machine parts.

The facility will also see another 200 jobs for Ferra as it ramps up production.

"Ferra and Lockheed Martin have worked closely for 18 months on the direct manufacturing process," Bob Bolz, Lockheed Martin vice president for F-35 global industrial integration, said at the signing.

"This new process offer has the potential to save between 30 and 50 per cent of the cost of machining aerospace titanium structural components, which are some of the most expensive components on the F-35."

Ferra will produce three components for the vertical tails which BAE Systems will be making in Australia.

"Production is expected to start in 2012 with the first deliveries expected three years later.

"We will also be looking at other ways the technology can be used," Ferra managing director Mark Scherrer said.

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