BAE Systems extends multi-year F-35 tail assembly agreement with Magellan Aerospace

Magellan Aerospace Corp. (Mississauga, Canada) recently announced that it will continue producing F-35 Lightning II horizontal tail assemblies under an agreement with BAE Systems (Farborough, U.K.). This significant, multi-year agreement is the continuation of contract awards made to Magellan by BAE Systems and will further Magellan’s participation on the global program.

The F-35 Lightning II is single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft. Its carbon fiber skin comprise approximately 35% of the structural weight and most of the visible surface on the fighter (learn more, “Skinning the F-35 fighter”).

Magellan and BAE Systems have been working together to produce horizontal tails for the global F-35 program for more than a decade, signing the original Letter of Intent for this agreement in 2006. Both companies have since made significant investment in facilities, technologies and training to ensure the successful delivery of these flight-critical assemblies to F-35 prime contractor Lockheed Martin (Bethesda, Md., U.S.). The horizontal tail assemblies produced at Magellan’s facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba, will be used on the conventional takeoff and landing variant of the F-35. Magellan is targeting to produce more than 1,000 shipsets of horizontal tail assemblies over the life of the F-35 program.

“Magellan has been able to achieve and maintain the maximum production rate per year during the COVID-19 crisis. The award of this agreement to Magellan and the ongoing demand for horizontal tails will enable our rate to be maintained for another three years,” Phillip Underwood, Magellan’s president and CEO, says. “Magellan is proud to be contributing on a critical program, from the earliest days, supporting all of the global customers in this unprecedented international enterprise.”

Magellan is excited to continue to participate on the F-35 program that includes eight international partners — the U.S., U.K., Italy, Netherlands, Australia, Norway, Denmark and Canada. Eight Foreign Military Sales customers are also procuring and operating the F-35 ­— Israel, Japan, South Korea, Poland, Belgium, Singapore, Finland and Switzerland.