Lockheed Martin [LMT] is weeks away from delivering the latest version of its F-35 aircraft maintenance software, according to a key executive.
Lockheed Martin Executive Vice President and General Manager of F-35 Jeff Babione told reporters Tuesday that the Automatic Logistics Information System (ALIS) 2.0.2.4 will bring a couple different capabilities. One, he said, is integrating the once separate Pratt & Whitney maintenance system into ALIS. Babione said this will streamline parts ordering. Pratt & Whitney develops the F135 engine for the F-35 program.
Pratt & Whitney is a division of United Technologies Corp. [UTX].
Babione also said the new version of ALIS will allow users to better prepare for deployment by allowing them to determine which spare parts to bring along. He said the final version of ALIS for system development and demonstration (SDD), ALIS 3.0, should be available in early 2018. The Pentagon’s Office of Test and Evaluation (OT&E) wrote in January that he believed ALIS 3.0 was at risk of slipping from early 2018 into mid-2018 (Defense Daily, Jan. 10).
Lockheed Martin, Babione said, will not sue the Defense Department over the $6 billion take-it-or-leave-it unilateral contract action (UCA) it issued for F-35 Lot 9. Lockheed Martin and the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) were at odds over the terms of the agreement and issued conflicting statements as to the mutuality of the deal. Babione said the company reached a mutual agreement with the JPO, which allowed Lockheed Martin to accept their Lot 9 offer.
The company will be taking no further action, he said, and is moving on.
Lockheed Martin is developing a land-use only version of its alternate engine removal and install trailer in an effort to reduce sustainment costs. Babione said the device was originally developed to safely hold on to an engine in extreme conditions such as on an aircraft carrier with 20 or 22 foot waves.
Babione said that given that not every trailer will be used under those conditions, the company is looking at scaling back some of those requirements to make the trailer less expensive. Though Lockheed Martin is at the very beginning of this land use-only trailer effort, Babione believes the $4 million investment for the trailer design change will save $35 million over the life of the program.
Lockheed Martin is working with DoD to structure a test plan that Babione hopes will end SDD closer to 2017 than 2018. He said a team has been formed to find ways to reduce test points, combine test and perform more sophisticated testing up front that will reduce risk. While this will be a challenge, Babione believes it is in everyone’s best interest to end SDD as soon as possible so stakeholders can move into initial operational test and evaluation and work on certifying the aircraft.