The castings will be featured in the F-35 Lightning II, a family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole fighters.
IBC Advanced Alloys Corp., Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, has delivered its first beryllium-aluminum azimuth gimbal housing castings to Lockheed Martin to be used in the F-35 Lightning II Electro Optical Targeting System (EOTS). The castings were produced at IBC’s Engineered Materials Division in Wilmington, Mass.
Lockheed Martin’s EOTS provides multi-function targeting which combines forward-looking infrared and infrared search and track functionality to provide pilots with air-to-air and air-to-surface targeting from a safe distance. The technology enables aircrews to identify areas of interest, perform reconnaissance and deliver laser- and GPS-guided weapons.
“This milestone is very important for IBC,” said Anthony Dutton, CEO and president, IBC Advanced Alloys. “Not only has IBC’s dedicated team met its commitments, but this first article acceptance is an important validation of IBC innovative cast components by a leading aerospace and defense company.”
The contract for the azimuth gimbal housing castings was announced in September 2014. The beryllium-aluminum alloys are well suited for aerospace applications because they can be three times stiffer than aluminum with 22% less weight.