Lockheed Martin has accepted first article inspection of the first F-35 production harnesses to be supplied by Co-Operative Industries Defense, LLC. Co-Operative Industries was selected by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics and Fokker to be the first, and only, Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business supplier to manufacture select electrical wiring harnesses for all F-35 (Joint Strike Fighter) derivative aircraft. Co-Operative Industries was chosen to produce a portion of the F-35 wire harness production starting at LRIP V. The inaugural harness assembly passed First Article Inspection (FAI) in time to support in-station Center Fuselage production load on 2BF:35.

Representatives from Lockheed Martin took a tour of the Co-Operative Industries facility and then gave a presentation and recognized the Co-Operative Industries employees for their efforts, congratulating them on this major accomplishment. In attendance from Lockheed were the Small Business Liaison Officer, Small Business Administrator, Program Manager, Procurement Quality Assurance Representative, and Project Engineer Senior Staff.

"We at Co-Operative Industries Defense look forward to supporting Lockheed Martin and supplying them with the multi-branched signal harnesses needed to support the Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft'," stated President and CEO Sam Symonds. "The F-35 is the most sophisticated combat aircraft ever designed and built. We are proud to team with Lockheed Martin and Fokker and be a part of this very important program."

Co-Operative Industries' will be manufacturing the electrical harnesses in its newly renovated 122,000 square foot facility. As a service disabled veteran owned small business, they currently support a number of prime contractors with electrical wiring harness design and manufacture for both ground and aerospace applications.