Lockheed Martin and Alenia Aeronautica Sign Contract for Initial Production of F-35 Wings

> ROME, Italy --- Lockheed Martin and Alenia Aeronautica, a Finmeccanica company, have signed today the first contract starting Alenia Aeronauticas production of the wings for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.>> The contract, for a total value of over USD$ 15 million, is the first of a series supporting Alenia Aeronauticas long term activities within the JSF program, according to the Memorandum of Understanding, signed by the two companies in 2006, that envisages over $6 billion in opportunities for Italian industry.>> Under the terms of the MoU Alenia Aeronautica is slated to produce more than 1,200 wings for the F-35 aircraft for the nine-partner program made up of Italy, United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Turkey, Australia, Canada, Denmark and Norway.>> Alenia Aeronauticas production for the JSF program will be carried out in Italy between 2009 and 2033, involving several Alenia Aeronautica production centres, starting with Campania and Puglia regions facilities, South Italy, which will be engaged in the activities for this first contract related to the LRIP 3 (third lot of F-35 Low-Rate Initial Production) aircraft batch. Alenias site in Piedmont will follow, starting from LRIP 4.>> Besides the JSF wing production, Alenias involvement in the program includes the participation in F-35 Integrated Product Teams, the already achieved successful completion of the development phase and design activities for the wing boxes of the CTOL and CV (Carrier Variant) versions of the F-35 at Alenias plant in Campania, and the expected key involvement in follow-on logistics & operational support phases.