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Magellan Aerospace has announced that the first complete ship set of F-35A Lightning II horizontal tail assemblies produced at its Winnipeg manufacturing division was successfully installed onto the aircraft at Lockheed Martin’s final assembly line in Fort Worth, Texas. This successful installation of Magellan’s horizontal tail assemblies is a key program milestone for the Corporation and demonstrates the many contributions being made by Canadian aerospace companies in the early stages of the F-35 program.
Magellan is under contract with BAE Systems, a principal member of the Lockheed Martin-led F-35 industry team, to produce horizontal tail assemblies for the Conventional Take Off and Landing (CTOL) variant of F-35.
Magellan is expected to produce more than 1,000 sets of the components for the program over, approximately, a 20-year period. “The reports we have received from Lockheed and BAES indicate that the product we delivered to the assembly line was installed without complication,” said Mr. James Butyniec, President and Chief Executive Officer of Magellan Aerospace. “We are pleased to see another of our F-35 assemblies preparing to take flight for the first time.” In addition to the horizontal tail, Magellan has produced the vane box assemblies and transition ducts for all of the F-35B Short Take Off and Landing variants flying today.
Magellan’s proactive investment in facilities, equipment, and processes in support of the F-35 Lightning II program has positioned Magellan to realize sales approaching $2.0B Cdn over the life of the F-35 program. Magellan’s revenues to date on the F-35 program exceed $100M Cdn.
Since the inception of Canada’s participation in the F-35 program in 1997, Canadian companies like Magellan Aerospace have been invited to compete for significant opportunities in support of this international program. This program milestone validates that companies such as Magellan can be successful and competitive in todays globalized aerospace supply chain.
