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Lockheed tests fighter jet Joint Strike Fighter contract is worth $200 billion By Robert Jablon The Associated Press LOS ANGELES � Lockheed Martin�s candidate for a $200 billion fighter jet contract made a "sparkling" first flight on Tuesday, landing at Edwards Air Force Base, its pilot said. The X-35A demonstrator reached only 10,000 feet during a 22-minute flight between Palmdale and the desert base, where the Space Shuttle landed later in the day. The aircraft did not go supersonic and was babied with relatively low takeoff and turning angles. The only glitch came when a switch indicated a landing gear door was open, but a check determined the gear was fine, test pilot Tom Morgenfeld said in a conference call. He called the problem minor. "There were no surprises. It flew exactly as we expected it to," he said. "The performance was absolutely sparkling. The landing was one of the easiest I�ve ever done." "I�d be ready to go (again) this afternoon if we had some gas in it." Another flight was planned for Friday. Maryland-based Lockheed and Seattle-based Boeing Co. are competing for a Pentagon contract to build the Joint Strike Fighter. It is designed to be an all-in-one jet to replace F-16s, Harriers and several other jets now used by the U.S. Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, Britain�s Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. About $20 billion is being spent on the program before production. The winning fighter will have "stealthy" characteristics and be capable of both dogfighting and bombing. As a cost-saving move, a basic overall design will be used for several versions that can handle aircraft carrier landings for the U.S. Navy or vertical takeoffs for the U.S. Marines and Royal Navy. Lockheed officials did not reveal the projected price, but Pentagon specifications for the Joint Strike Fighter place it at $28 million to $38 million per plane, depending on the version. The winner is expected to be named next year, with production of an anticipated 3,000 fighters beginning in 2007. Lockheed based the shape of the X-35A on its F-22, another fighter not yet deployed. Boeing�s X-32A demonstrator, which made its first flight last month at Edwards, is a stubbier new design. "We�re a whole lot prettier," Morgenfeld said. Lockheed�s demonstrator was engineered to be as close to the eventual manufacturing prototype as possible, meaning no major changes are expected in the basic design. Lockheed officials were buoyed by its success. "It�s as clean a start as I have ever been associated with," said Harry Blot, deputy manager of the company�s Joint Strike Fighter program. "The future has started now," said Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. President Dain Hancock. The fighter is Lockheed�s "single most important new business program," Hancock said. "We fully intend to come out of this next fall as the winner." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.