Australian company delivers its 50th vertical tail for Joint Strike Fighters

The Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Christopher Pyne MP, today congratulated Victorian based company, Marand Precision Engineering, on delivering its 50th Vertical Tail in support of the global F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program.

Minister Pyne said Marand’s achievement, with the support of BAE Systems PLC, demonstrated the strength of Australia’s defence industry in a competitive global market and the importance of international collaboration.

“Through its partnership with BAE Systems PLC, and with the support of its Australian and European supply chain, Marand has delivered its 50 Conventional Take-Off and Landing Vertical Tails all to schedule and without a single customer quality issue,” Minister Pyne said.

“This is an outstanding achievement and typifies the significance of Australian defence industry’s involvement in the global F-35 Program – Australian industry has been collectively awarded over $1 billion in production contracts to date.”

Marand, which has been involved in the F-35 Program since 2002, is now an established supplier of F-35 Vertical Tails, with Australian-produced tails on the aircraft of several Partner Nations, including Australia.

Last year BAE Systems Australia delivered more than 1,700 titanium parts into the F-35 program through Marand. Currently 300 components for the F-35 vertical tail are being produced per month.

“In what was a major milestone for the Australian F-35A Project, an Australian-made Vertical Tail – produced by Marand – was fitted to Australia’s third F-35A aircraft as it neared completion at Lockheed Martin’s production facility in Fort Worth, Texas, in August 2017,” Minister Pyne said.

Minister Pyne said the strength of Australia’s defence industry had made it a significant and crucial contributor to the global F-35 Program, which will support up to 5000 Australian jobs by 2023.

The Australian Government has approved the acquisition of 72 F-35A JSF aircraft. Australia’s first six JSFs are currently operating at the international Pilot Training Centre at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, US, with four more aircraft expected to be delivered by the end of this year.

Two of Australia’s F-35A aircraft are scheduled to arrive for permanent basing at RAAF Base Williamtown near Newcastle in New South Wales in December this year.

Further information on Australian industry participation in the F-35 Program is available at:

http://www.defence.gov.au/casg/AboutCASG/OurStructure/Air/JointStrikeFighterDivision/IndustryParticipation/default.aspx