Magellan, BAE Systems to ramp up F-35 tail assembly production

Magellan Aerospace Corp. (Magellan; Toronto, Ontario, Canada) has announced that it will continue producing F-35 Lightning II horizontal tail assemblies under an agreement with BAE Systems (Monroe, N.C., U.S.). The agreement, which is a the continuation of contract awards made to Magellan by BAE Systems, awards additional quantities which Magellan says will more than double the horizontal tails produced so far for the program.

Magellan, through its operations in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and BAE Systems have been working together to produce horizontal tails for the global F-35 program for more than a decade, signing the original Letter of Intent for this agreement in 2006. Both companies have since made significant investment in facilities, technologies and training to ensure the successful delivery of these flight-critical assemblies to F-35 prime contractor Lockheed Martin (Bethesda, Md., U.S.).

The horizontal tail assemblies produced at Magellan will be used on the Conventional Takeoff and Landing (CTOL) variant of the F-35. Magellan is targeting to produce more than 1,000 ship sets of horizontal tail assemblies over the life of the F-35 program.

“This contract represents additional quantities of horizontal tails awarded to Magellan with annual deliveries ramping up to 60 per year within the three-year period. This is approximately half of the program requirement for the CTOL variant of the aircraft,” says Phillip Underwood, Magellan’s president and CEO. “Magellan has steadily increased its annual deliveries since the first horizontal tail delivery in 2012.”