With affordability as its cornerstone, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is designed to offer next- generation technologies and capabilities with a price tag comparable to that of current-generation multi-role fighters. Despite its affordable up-front price, the F-35 will deliver the greatest cost savings through long-term ownership.

"The F-35 will require less than half the people, parts and equipment to deploy rapidly anywhere in the world," said Luke Gill, Lockheed Martin vice president of F-35 JSF Global Sustainment. "The extraordinary range of the F-35 and its small logistics footprint cut airlift requirements in half and significantly reduce the need for aerial-refueling aircraft."

Operation-and-support typically comprises two-thirds of a fighter's ownership costs. The F-35's designed-in efficiencies mean that those expenses will decline dramatically -- by an estimated 20 to 30 percent. The F-35 operates with a suite of Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) capabilities that monitor the status of aircraft systems and automatically transmit the information to maintainers on the ground. PHM enables technicians to meet the aircraft with all necessary tools, people and parts to conduct the maintenance and get the plane airborne again quickly.

At the root of the F-35's operation-and-support cost savings is an airplane that sets new standards for reliability and ease of maintenance. Because thousands of F-35s will be deployed worldwide, a Global Sustainment plan is under development that exploits that reliability and streamlines the worldwide supply chain to ensure that each F-35 is always ready when needed.

"F-35 customers are not just buying an airplane. They're also getting our commitment to provide an affordable, multi-mission strike capability for the better part of this century," Gill said.

The F-35 is a next-generation, supersonic, multi-role stealth aircraft designed to replace the AV-8B Harrier, A-10, F-16, F/A-18 Hornet and the United Kingdom's Harrier GR.7 and Sea Harrier. Three F-35 variants -- a conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL), a short-takeoff/vertical-landing (STOVL) and a carrier variant (CV) -- each derived from a common design will ensure that the F-35 meets the performance needs of the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, the U.K. Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, and allied defense forces worldwide, while staying within strict affordability targets.

Lockheed Martin is developing the F-35 in collaboration with its principal partners, Northrop Grumman and BAE SYSTEMS.

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., a business area of Lockheed Martin, is a leader in the design, research and development, systems integration, production and support of advanced military aircraft and related technologies. Its customers include the military services of the United States and allied countries throughout the world. Products include the F-16, F/A-22, F-35 JSF, F-117, C-5, C-130, C-130J, P-3, S-3 and U-2. The company produces major components for the F-2 fighter, and is a co-developer of the C-27J tactical transport and T-50 advanced jet trainer.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin employs about 130,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2004 sales of $35.5 billion.

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SOURCE: Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company