LAI International, Inc., a strategic supplier of precision components and subassemblies for original equipment manufacturers, has entered into a multi-year, multi-million-dollar frame agreement to manufacture structural components for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.   

LAI has signed a manufacturing contract with Kongsberg Defence Systems, Norway, for producing structural components on vertical fins on the advanced attack aircraft F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Jet. The contract has a potential value of several million dollars through 2014.   

LAI will use its advanced waterjet machining capabilities to process the titanium vertical tail fin components, including parts on the vertical fin identified as a spar, crank and bell. The components will be processed at LAI's manufacturing facility in Westminster, Md.    

"LAI solved Kongsberg's requirements for dimensional accuracy and processing speed, cutting the 10-inch thick titanium forgings," Thomas Sterner, major accounts manager, said. "Our multiple machines and 24/7 capacity makes LAI an ideal partner as F-35 production increases."   

LAI also has a multi-year contract to manufacture 21 different highly engineered, precision-machined titanium and aluminum structural panels that fit on the airframe of three variants of the advanced attack aircraft F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Jet — a Conventional Take-Off and Landing aircraft for the  U.S. Air Force, a Carrier Variant for the U.S. Navy; and a Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing aircraft for the U.S. Marine Corps and the Royal Navy.