FORT WORTH, Texas, Sept. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) team has completed testing of several major propulsion system components for its X-35 Joint Strike Fighter and is continuing tests of other major components.

"All the tests have been highly successful and we are very pleased about the data that have been yielded to date," said Fran Ketter, propulsion system integration manager for Lockheed Martin's JSF. "Test results indicate that the X-35 propulsion system will meet or exceed our stringent performance objectives, while concurrently meeting all operability goals."

In the first evaluations a high speed inlet/forebody model was tested in the 16-foot Transonic Tunnel at Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC), Tennessee. "The test results indicated that the X-35 inlet design is effective in providing high quality airflow to the engine throughout the planned flight test envelope," Ketter said.

In other tests, a low-speed inlet/forebody model has been tested in the 9-foot by 15-foot subsonic and 8-foot by 6-foot supersonic wind tunnels at NASA-Lewis Research Center (LeRC) in Ohio. The full range of short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) operating conditions was modeled in these tests of the X-35 STOVL aircraft's design.

Allison Engine Company of Indianapolis, Indiana, manufacturer of the shaft-driven lift fan system for Lockheed Martin's STOVL JSF aircraft, recently concluded testing of a model of the lift fan exhaust nozzle at the NASA-Lewis Powered Lift Facility in Ohio. Allison Engine Company also engaged B.F. Goodrich (NYSE: GR) of Troy, Ohio, to conduct testing of the lift fan clutch that B.F. Goodrich is developing under a subcontract to Allison.

Pratt & Whitney and Rolls Royce recently conducted scale model testing of other key propulsion system components for Lockheed Martin's JSF, which will use a shaft-driven lift fan to generate auxiliary thrust for STOVL flight. Lockheed Martin completed extensive testing with a 91-percent scale working model of the lift fan system last year, proving the mechanical integrity of the innovative concept.

Lockheed Martin's JSF airframe team includes Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) and British Aerospace. Lockheed Martin received one of two Joint Strike Fighter concept demonstration contracts the Department of Defense awarded November 16, 1996. Lockheed Martin successfully completed the Initial Design Review (IDR) for its JSF program in briefings held with government program officials in early June.

SOURCE Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems

Lockheed Martin C-141 Pioneering JSF Flight Control Technology

FORT WORTH, Texas, Aug. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- A U.S. Air Force C-141 modified by Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) in Marietta, Ga., recently completed 500 hours of flight with electric-powered flight control actuators similar to those that will be demonstrated with an F-16 under the corporation's Joint Strike Fighter/Integrated Subsystem Technology (J/IST) contract.

The StarLifter was modified in 1996 and has been flying test missions from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and routine cargo and passenger missions in the Pacific for the Air Mobility Command. The aircraft is scheduled to fly a total of 1,000 hours to demonstrate the reliability of the electric actuators.

The C-141 is the only transport aircraft in the world flying with electrically powered flight control actuators, which were integrated with a fly-by-wire flight control computer to replace the aircraft's conventional hydraulically actuated aileron controls. The team that led the C-141 program is now contributing to the JSF-related effort, since some of the system components are comparable.

Under the J/IST contract, Lockheed Martin will create the world's first fighter equipped with electric flight controls. Modifications to the Lockheed Martin/USAF Advanced Fighter Technology Integration/F-16 (AFTI/F-16) aircraft are scheduled to begin at Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems in Fort Worth, Texas, later this year.

"The successful demonstration of electric flight controls with the C-141 is another example of how Lockheed Martin is using expertise and technology from throughout the corporation to develop the highest technology, most affordable Joint Strike Fighter possible," said David J. Wheaton, vice president and JSF program director. "We call our technology-rich, synergistic corporate team the 'Lockheed Martin Fighter Enterprise,' and we are totally focused on meeting the needs of our customers."

Prototypes of the F-16 were the first fighters to demonstrate a fully "fly-by-wire" flight control system. In fly-by-wire, a computer-augmented electrical system replaces the mechanical linkages between the cockpit controls and the aircraft control surfaces. Fly-by-wire controls are now used widely, although current systems still depend on hydraulic actuators.

Electrically actuated flight controls are planned for the production versions of the JSF because they will provide significant life-cycle cost, maintainability and weight improvements, and environmental benefits.

Lockheed Martin's JSF team also includes Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) and British Aerospace.

Lockheed Martin successfully completed the Initial Design Review (IDR) for its Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program in briefings held with government JSF program officials in early June.