Quickstep Holdings has announced it has signed a long-term agreement (LTA) with Marand Precision Engineering to supply about 700 sets of carbon fibre composite parts for F-35 JSF vertical tails over 14 years.
The estimated $148 million deal comes after the signing of an MoU in 2009, and comprises 18 individual parts including skins, spars and fairings manufactured by Quickstep for each tail. Marand supplies tail shipsets to JSF program sub-contractor BAE Systems.
The company says it expects to deliver its first parts to Marand in Victoria in the second half of 2015. “We are delighted to sign this long-term agreement, which locks in the previous memorandum of understanding with Marand for the JSF program,” Quickstep managing director, Philippe Odouard, said in a statement. “This is an important step forward for Australian manufacturing, which demonstrates the value of our capabilities for global aerospace and defence contracts, and our capacity to meet the complex schedules of international supply chains.”
