Magellan delivers 200th horizontal stabiliser set for F-35

The milestone has been reached eight years after the first delivery, but production is now at full rate and Magellan hopes these are just the first of up to 1,000 ship-sets over the program lifetime.

Magellan Aerospace Corporation has delivered the 200th set of F-35 Lightning II horizontal stabiliser assemblies under an agreement with BAE Systems. Magellan and BAE Systems have been working together to produce horizontal stabilizers for the global F-35 program since 2009. Both companies have since made significant investment in facilities, technologies and training to ensure the successful delivery of these flight-critical assemblies to the F-35 prime contractor Lockheed Martin.

"Magellan has been steadily increasing its annual deliveries for the global F-35 program since the first horizontal stabiliser shipset delivery in 2012 and is currently operating at full production rate," says Phillip Underwood, Magellan's President and CEO.

"Achieving this significant delivery milestone in today's unprecedented and challenging business environment speaks to the reliability of our processes and the resiliency of the Magellan team. Magellan has been steadily increasing its annual deliveries for the global F-35 program since the first horizontal stabilizer shipset delivery in 2012 and is currently operating at full production rate."

Tom Fillingham, Senior Vice President, US Programmes, BAE Systems Air says, "At BAE Systems, we're proud to collaborate with Magellan and international suppliers to fulfil our role on such a critical programme which global air forces depend on. Magellan's delivery of its 200th set of F-35 horizontal stabiliser assemblies is a significant milestone and is testament to the dedication and teamwork from all involved."

The horizontal stabilizers produced at Magellan are major assemblies on the Conventional Takeoff and Landing (CTOL) variant of the F-35. Magellan is targeting to produce more than 1,000 ship sets of horizontal tail assemblies over the life of the F-35 program along with various other metallic and composite components for the program.