US fixed-wing programmes look to rise above crisis
Substantial investment by the US DoD in major fighter jet and tanker aircraft programmes — combined with the economic fallout from the COVID-19 coronavirus crisis — has put extraordinary pressure on manufacturers to meet contractual obligations.
Recent temporary F-35 production suspensions in Italy and Japan, coupled with Lockheed Martin introducing relief funding for ‘small and vulnerable businesses’ across its supply chain, have shown crucial cautionary steps are being taken to confront operational issues, while deliveries of the fifth-generation fighter fell from 26 in Q1 2019 to 22 in Q1 2020.
On a more positive note, the company’s Aeronautics division saw its operating
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