Mathcad sets the standard for F-35 programme

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company has selected Mathcad as a standard environment for performing, documenting and managing the structural calculations on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme.

The Structural Analysis Group at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company has selected Mathcad as a standard environment for performing, documenting and managing the structural calculations on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme - the largest military contract in history.

Leveraging Mathcad's singular calculation management capabilities, the group can now trace the inputs, assumptions, methods, calculations and results that drive the F-35 JSF structural design process and realise newfound efficiencies in design, quality and productivity for the development of this 21st century military aircraft.

"The biggest immediate issues for the F-35 design team are ensuring top quality, shortening design cycles and reducing weight", said Dr Glenn Morris, specialty lead for structural analysis at Lockheed Martin.

"Mathcad will help us meet our needs by functioning as both a standard tool to perform and document critical calculations and as a design repository where the underlying assumptions behind the calculations can live.

With Mathcad, we will also be able to do more aggressive mathematical analysis, which helps us to speed up design cycles and make improvements to the weight of the aircraft".

The F-35 is the US Military's fifth-generation fighter aircraft.

The mission of the F-35 programme is to provide the US Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, and the UK's Royal Navy and Royal Air Force with an affordable and stealthy tactical aircraft for the 21st century.

The JSF programme is slated to produce a total of 2593 aircraft for the USA's and UK's armed forces.

A hallmark of the JSF programme is its commitment to world-class manufacturing and a state-of-the-art production line that emphasises advanced low-cost production, a virtual product team and integrated product ownership.

From the start, F-35 has been an international programme.

With eight international partners - the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Australia - the programme boasts unprecedented global participation.

Additionally, Israel recently joined the programme as a security co-operation participant.

Spearheaded by Lockheed Martin as the primary contractor, the JSF programme involves subcontractors and suppliers from all over the world who contribute to keeping the aircraft affordable and unparalleled in quality.

Engineering and information technology challenges come together in the JSF programme.

As the design strategy of the F-35 emphasises efficiency and low cost, Lockheed Martin set out to use common software for the design of the entire aircraft, from the mission systems and subsystems to the airframe.

This is critical to achieving more efficient test and checkout procedures and reduced software maintenance infrastructure.

Currently, reducing the estimated weight of the structural elements of the aircraft is a top priority for the design team as it prepares for its next major milestone, the critical design review.

Mathcad, with its ability to facilitate rigorous data analysis, will help enable the Structural Analysis Group to meet this important goal.

At the same time, Mathcad's centralised repository capabilities will contribute greatly to the programme's objective of creating a seamless engineering and business environment linking the JSF Programme Office, Lockheed Martin and its US and international team members.

Harnessing its integration capabilities, the F-35 structural design team is also integrating Mathcad with other essential tools such as finite element analysis and computer aided design software.

Mathcad is supplied and supported in the UK and Ireland by Adept Scientific.

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