Visit the International Products Corporation web site

Joint Strike Fighter standardises on Mathcad

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Oct 20, 2003

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.

Using Mathcad's 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 better efficiencies in design, quality and productivity for the development of this 21st century military aircraft.

Dr Glenn Morris, Section Head for Structural Analysis at Lockheed Martin, said: "The biggest issues for the F-35 design team are ensuring quality, shortening design cycles and reducing the weight of the aircraft.

Mathcad will help us meet our needs by allowing us to perform and document critical calculations, as well as acting 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".

Chris Randles, CEO of Mathsoft Engineering and Education said: "Mathsoft has identified calculation management as a crucial business process for engineering-intensive organisations, and now our industry leading customers such as Lockheed Martin are adopting calculation management as a strategic initiative.

By managing the critical engineering calculations for the structural design of the F-35, Lockheed Martin will improve productivity, eliminate redundancies, reduce errors, minimise audit time and raise quality".

The JSF program faces immense engineering and IT challenges.

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.

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: critical design review.

Mathcad, with its ability to manage accurate 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.

The F-35 structural design team is also integrating Mathcad with other essential tools such as finite element analysis and computer aided design software.