Boeing

Twenty-five of the world's top aerospace companies have joined the Boeing Joint Strike Fighter industry team -- called the "One Team." This expansion of the industry team is a crucial step toward making the Joint Strike Fighter the most cost-effective major weapon system possible. The team is focusing resources on winning the JSF Engineering and Manufacturing Development decision in 2001.

"Boeing and the original six members of the One Team have selected the best companies in the aerospace industry who share a commitment to building the most affordable and effective aircraft possible," said Frank Statkus, Boeing vice president and JSF general manager. "They bring unparalleled technical and management expertise to bear on our must-win goal for the EMD phase."

The new members were chosen based on their superior performance during the current Concept Demonstration phase of the program.

"Each one has demonstrated an ability to be innovative and a drive to implement low-cost approaches," Statkus said. "Each has pledged to develop a cooperative, team-based solution to our customers' requirements."

Just as cooperation between contractors and the U.S. government has become a cornerstone of defense acquisition reform, building a unified team of suppliers gives Boeing a way to reduce acquisition costs. Boeing has had tremendous success implementing the team concept on its commercial programs, most notably during the development of its popular 777 wide body twinjet.

The team arrangement allows suppliers to fully understand customer requirements and participate with Boeing early enough to develop a design that is more responsive and easier to build.

"This reduces program risk and costs by identifying needed technologies and approaches early enough to make a difference," Statkus said.

The formation of the One Team well ahead of the beginning of EMD gives all members sufficient time to implement cooperative processes and allows suppliers to commit resources based on realistic data.

To reduce costs, the team is now aligning business processes and implementing ways to improve communications. One goal is to reduce the need for Boeing oversight by utilizing agreed-to best practices, sharing data, and sharing cost and schedule status electronically. Also, using common performance metrics and having all team members attain "preferred supplier" certification will greatly reduce the need for oversight.

The broad international profile of the Boeing JSF One Team demonstrates a Boeing priority for involving world-class managers, engineers and manufacturing experts. It also reflects the global nature of a program that has already provided opportunities for allied governments to participate in the development of the aircraft. The United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway, The Netherlands, Canada, Italy and Singapore are active partners with the U.S. Department of Defense.

International members of the industry team are based in the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Denmark and Canada.

Boeing is competing to build the JSF for the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps and the U.K. Royal Navy and Royal Air Force under a four-year concept demonstration phase contract that includes the production and flight test of two concept demonstrators. A competition winner will be selected in 2001.

New members of the expanded Boeing JSF One Team are:

• Aerosystems; Yeovil, England (logistics support)
• AlliedSignal; Morristown, N.J. (subsystems)
• A&M Castle; Paramount, Calif. (raw material titanium)
• BFGoodrich; Vergennes, Vt. (fuel system)
• Cytec Fiberite; Anaheim, Calif. (composite raw material)
• Dowty Aerospace; Wolverhampton, England (flight-control actuator)
• EDO; North Amityville, N.Y. (weapons bay swing-arm system)
• Fokker; The Netherlands (airframe structural details, wire bundles)
• Hamilton Standard; Windsor Locks, Connecticut (engine subsystems)
• Harris; Melbourne, Fla. (pilot-vehicle interface (PVI), network interface cards)
• Hexcel; Kirkland, Wash. (composite raw materials)
• Honeywell; Minneapolis, Minn. (prognostics and health management (PHM))
• Howmet; East Hanford, Conn. (castings)
• Marconi Aerospace; Fareham, England (fuel system)
• Martin-Baker; Middlesex, England (ejection system)
• Moog; East Aurora, N.Y. (flight control actuators)
• Parker Air & Fuel; Irvine, Calif. (fuel system)
• Parker Airborne; Elyria, Ohio (fuel system)
• Philips; Eindhoven, The Netherlands (airframe structural details)
• Sanders; Nashua, N.H. (electronic warfare)
• Stanley Aviation; Aurora, Colo. (fuel system)
• Sundstrand; Rockford, Ill. (subsystems)
• Syllogic; Amersfoort, The Netherlands (supportability systems)
• Terma (Per Udsen); Grenaa, Denmark (airframe structural parts; PHM)
• TRW; San Diego, Calif. (communication/navigation/identification system)

The following original team members were announced in September 1998:

• Flight Refuelling, Ltd.; Dorset, England (fuel system)
• Marconi Electronic Systems; Stanmore, England (vehicle management system and cockpit displays)
• Messier-Dowty, Ltd.; Gloucester, England (main and nose landing gear)
• Pratt & Whitney; West Palm Beach, Fla. (JSF119 engine and exhaust nozzle)
• Raytheon Systems Company; Lexington, Mass. (select mission systems)
• Rolls-Royce, plc.; Bristol, England (vertical lift propulsion system, attitude control system)

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