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Lift off for High-Tech Tooling at BAE Systems at Samlesbury

03 Apr 2006

The High-Tech Tooling team at BAE Systems at Samlesbury have successfully produced and delivered the first two composite mould tools for the STOVL (Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing) variant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

The BAE Systems team has delivered the tools, which will be used to produce the upper boom skin on the aircrafts aft fuselage, on-time, on budget and to the exacting quality standards and tolerances required on the JSF programme.

Project managed by the High-Tech Tooling Team at Samlesbury, the mould tools are made from steel and measure 3m x 2.6m. Fabricated and rough machined in the sub-contract base, the tools are finished in-house to ensure the tight tolerances required for F-35, the next-generation, supersonic, multi-role stealth aircraft, are achieved. Finished on highly accurate, Dorries Scharmann, 5-axis high-speed machines, the tools have been produced to a tolerance within +/- 50 microns (thats +/- two 1000ths of an inch), the equivalent of half a human hair!

Steve Oldman, Product Manager in High-Tech Tooling at BAE Systems at Samlesbury said: Delivering the first two STOVL JSF mould tools on time, to budget and to the high levels of quality required, marks the first milestone in what promises to be a challenging but exciting year for us. We have a total of 174 mould and rout tools to deliver for the STOVL JSF programme during the year and by maintaining our high levels of performance, we will be able to ensure that we keep the customer happy and deliver quality products, on-time and on-budget.

About BAE SYSTEMS

BAE Systems is the premier transatlantic defence and aerospace company delivering a full range of products and services for air, land and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, information technology solutions and customer support services. With more than 100,000 employees worldwide, BAE Systems sales exceeded GB 15.4 billion (US$28 billion) in 2005.

For further information, please contact:

Paul Earnshaw, BAE Systems
Tel: +44 (0) 1772 855572 Fax +44 (0) 1772 85624
Email: paul.h.earnshaw@baesystems.com