Alcoa, with headquarters in New York and Pittsburgh, has announced that it has been awarded a contract to supply titanium for Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II aircraft program, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). Under the contract, Alcoa becomes the titanium supplier for airframe structures for all three variants of the F-35 over nine years, from 2016 to 2024. At current projected build rates, the contract has an estimated value of $1.1 billion, according to Alcoa.
The company will supply titanium plate and billet from several operations gained through the RTI International Metals acquisition.
“Through our expansion in titanium, Alcoa is sharpening its leadership edge on state-of-the-art aircraft, including the most advanced fighter jet in the world—the F-35,” says Alcoa Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Klaus Kleinfeld. “We are expanding Alcoa’s range of multimaterial offerings for this program while helping Lockheed Martin meet aggressive weight, range and fuel efficiency targets.”
The titanium will be used to manufacture airframe structures for all three F-35 JSF variants: the F-35A Conventional Takeoff and Landing (CTOL) aircraft, the F-35B Short Takeoff/Vertical Landing (STOVL) aircraft and the F-35C Carrier Variant (CV). Under a different existing contract, Alcoa will use the metal to forge all of the largest titanium bulkheads—the “backbone” of the aircraft structure—for the CTOL variant at its Cleveland operations. Approximately 75 percent of all F-35s produced are CTOLs.
“This contract with Alcoa is a key element in securing our supply chain with a strong U.S. partner for a critical, strategic raw material,” says Dan Pleshko, vice president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics’ Enterprise Supply Chain Management.
In addition to the forged titanium bulkheads, Alcoa says it already supplies several key, multimaterial components for the F-35, including:
- multiple structural aircraft body components, including the largest forged aluminum bulkheads, which Alcoa manufactures in one piece—as opposed to multipiece assemblies—saving 300-400 pounds per jet, helping Lockheed Martin meet aggressive weight, range and fuel efficiency targets and reduce machining and assembly time;
- advanced aluminum die forgings for the critical wheel and braking systems;
- fasteners and installation tooling that hold the aircraft together;
- machined aluminum and titanium “vane box” assemblies that direct air flow, enabling the vertical landing capabilities of the STOVL; and
- several high-performance components for the F-135 engine, including seamless rolled rings that encase the engine parts, titanium forged disks and advanced single-crystal, nickel superalloy blades and vanes that enable the engine to operate at temperatures hotter than the melting point of the superalloys, increasing fuel efficiency.
The F-35 Lightning II is an advanced fighter aircraft combining stealth, speed and agility, designed for many kinds of missions. Lockheed Martin’s full-rate production goal is 13 aircraft per month by the mid-2020s, up from an average of three aircraft delivered per month in 2014.
Alcoa has been growing its multimaterial aerospace business to capture growth in the global aerospace market in support of its broader transformation. Alcoa recently acquired global titanium leader RTI International Metals, aerospace components manufacturer TITAL and global jet engine parts leader Firth Rixson. Alcoa also has grown organically. It opened the world’s largest aluminum-lithium facility in Lafayette, Indiana, launched expansions to increase jet engine parts production in La Porte, Indiana and Hampton, Virginia, began installation of advanced aerospace plate manufacturing capabilities in Davenport, Iowa, announced plans to double its coatings capabilities for jet engine components in Whitehall, Michigan and announced an investment in technology that strengthens the metallic structures of traditional and additive manufactured parts, also in Whitehall, Michigan.