Contract for F-35 Reprogramming Labs Differentiates Among European Allies

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $21,200,000 not-to-exceed undefinitized modification to a previously awarded low-rate initial production Lot 11 advance acquisition contract (N00019-16-C-0033).

This effort provides Digital Tuner Insertion Program configuration parts for the Norway Italy Reprogramming Lab, the Australia [Canada] United Kingdom Reprogramming Lab, and the U.S. Reprogramming Lab in support of F-35 aircraft.

Work will be performed in Nashua, New Hampshire, and is expected to be completed in May 2019. Fiscal 2015 aircraft procurement (Air Force and Marine Corps) funds; and international partner funds in the amount of $9,350,000 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year.

This modification combines purchases for the Air Force ($1,700,000; 18.2 percent) and Marine Corps ($1,700,000; 18.2 percent) with International Partners ($5,950,000; 63.6 percent).

The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: It is of note that, while Italy and the U.K. are the largest European F-35 partners; are the only two to have ordered the F-35B STOVL variant; and will share the heavy maintenance work on European F-35 airframes, they will be serviced by different Reprogramming Labs.
The UK will share the same lab as Australia and – the Pentagon hopes – Canada, while Italy will share its lab with Norway.
This discriminates between NATO allies who are members of the US / Australia / Canada / New Zealand / UK “Five Eyes” agreement, and those that are not.
This also contract confirms that allies operating is the same theater will be provided with different mission data packages, for which there is no obvious rationale.
Logic would hold that UK and Italian F-35s, which will mostly operate in Western Europe, should share the same set of mission data packages, while UK and Australian F-35s, which will operate in very different theaters, should use different ones.
Yet, that is not the case, and the above contract links UK and Australian mission data from one lab, while Italy and Norway mission data are provided by another.
In other words, one can infer that allies, even when operating in the same theaters, will not have access to the same mission data packages, which seems to negate the principles of equality among NATO allies as well as equality among F-35 partners.)

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