Associated Press
ST. LOUIS — The Pentagon gave a "A" to Boeing Co.’s design for the Joint Strike Fighter, but graded the rival — and winning — entry from Lockheed Martin Corp. an "A-plus."
That’s the basic explanation given Tuesday by Jerry Daniels, the head of Boeing’s St. Louis-based Military Aircraft and Missile Systems Group, after a debriefing Monday with defense officials in Washington, D.C.
"I came away with the impression that we did not lose, but that Lockheed Martin clearly won," Daniel said. "Not only did our design meet the requirements, but often exceeded them."
But Lockheed Martin’s JSF design, now known as the F-35, exceed the program’s design requirements more often, Daniels said.
Defense officials announced last week that after an eight-year design phase and competition between the two contractors, it had selected Lockheed Martin to continue as the prime contractor on the JSF project. The $300 billion contract calls for more than 3,000 next-generation fighter jets for three branches of the armed forces.
While stressing that no one part of the design of Boeing’s X-32 JSF led to the loss, Daniels said defense officials considered Lockheed’s design for the U.S. Marine Corps and Britain’s Royal Navy and Air Force version of the JSF superior.
Lockheed and Boeing came up with radically different designs for the short takeoff and landing feature of that version.
Boeing’s design, similar to the technology used in the Harriers now flown by the Marines, used a direct lift system that redirected thrust of the plane’s engine to allow for vertical takeoffs and landings. With the F-35 design, Lockheed engineers created a lift fan to achieve the same effect. Daniels said that almost amounts to having a second engine, placing less stress on the aircraft and, unlike Boeing’s design, not requiring the jet’s engine to run at an extremely high level.
While a bigger risk at the start of the design process, the lift fan system paid off for Lockheed. Meanwhile, Boeing’s direct lift system required some design compromises that ultimately turned into a weakness, Daniels said.
Now, he said, Boeing will focus on finding new business for its military division. That could include business with Lockheed as a subcontractor on the JSF, but Daniels said he hasn’t talked with Lockheed about that, or what Boeing could offer.
Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.