Press Releases
November 1, 2001
Bihrle Selected as Lockheed Martin JSF Preferred Team Member
Hampton, Virginia - Lockheed Martin has selected Bihrle Applied Research, Inc. to its Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) preferred team members for the program's System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase.
"Real-world test data is the backbone of our design process, and our comprehensive test program verifies the performance of our JSF family over the complete flight envelope, from low-speed STOVL to supersonic up-and-away," said Harry Blot, vice president and deputy program manager of
the Lockheed Martin JSF. "We use simulation to the greatest extent possible, but we rely on wind-tunnel testing and actual flying to validate our design."
Bihrle will conduct wind tunnel tests in the low speed regime to assess the steady rotational and forced oscillation aerodynamic stability & control characteristics of the Lockheed Martin JSF family of aircraft. The overall test objective for this type of testing is to provide
sufficient dynamic wind tunnel data to characterize and validate the JSF family of aircraft. All updates to the three aircraft variants (CTOL, STOVL, & Carrier Version) will be characterized early in the test program with the potential for minimal configuration refinements to
enhance aerodynamic performance and controllability aspects. Once the outer mold lines are set, the remaining test plans will focus on validation and database construction to support dynamic analysis and flight control law development with a number of analysis tools, including Bihrle's
D-Six simulation environment.
The Joint Strike Fighter program involves the production of an initial 22 aircraft in the program's $25 billion System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase formerly known as Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD). The total program is valued at approximately $200
billion and will be a cornerstone of future defense capability for the United States, the United Kingdom and their allied partners. Plans call for more than 3,000 aircraft over the life of the program. The Joint Strike Fighter is designed to replace the A-10, the AV-8 Harrier, F-16 and
the F/A-18.
Lockheed Martin Corporation is headquartered in Bethesda, Md., and is a global enterprise principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced-technology systems, products and services. The corporation's core businesses are systems
integration, space, aeronautics and technology services. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, a unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation, is a world leader in the design, development, systems integration, production and support of military aircraft. Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, its
customers include the military services of the United States and allied countries throughout the world.
Bihrle Applied Research Inc. is a world-class aerospace technology company established in 1973, incorporated in both the United States and Germany, specializing in the testing and simulation of aircraft. The integration of industry-wide experience with creativity and the latest
technology has revolutionized the acquisition, reduction and application of test data in high fidelity simulations. Bihrle has supported the development of the latest military and civil aircraft configurations with these unique capabilities and has been recognized throughout the
industry for their contributions.
Contact
| Bihrle Applied Research, Inc. |
| Jack Ralston |
| (757) 766-2416, ext. 217 |
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| Lockheed Martin |
| Mike Fox |
| (817) 777-8342 |
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