Device Technologies, Inc. (DTi), a manufacturer of wire protection solutions, says they will help Lockheed Martin save a potential $6.5M by replacing all glued in nylon grommets (MS21266) on their F-35As with Spring-Fast Grommet Edging (M22529/2).
The Pentagon’s Joint Program Office and Lockheed Martin just wrapped up a $34 billion agreement for the production and delivery of 478 F-35As at the lowest price in the program’s history. The F-35A unit cost of $77.9M represents an estimated overall 12.8% reduction vs the previous $79.2M price.
These savings were driven by the GAO which was tasked in 2015 with optimizing the F-35 program. A key area was affordability and lowering the flyaway price. In addition, the F-35 program office has “Blueprint for Affordability” initiatives which could save about $8 billion in F-35 costs — if fully realized by Lockheed Martin.
DTi’s recommendation is simple; replace all the glued in nylon grommets (MS21266) with Spring-Fast Grommet edging (M22529/2). The estimated $6.5M in program cost savings can help Lockheed offset any drop in revenue.
DTi says their Spring-Fast is “simple to install, yields best in class performance and is fully qualified as an FAA approved replacement part and already has NAVAIR approval.”
Nick Petri, managing director of DTi indicated, “Spring-Fast grommet edging provides best in class performance for half the cost. Any OEM in the aerospace vertical who uses the old nylon grommet edging with glue can take advantage of significant cost savings – and can easily estimate it using our Airframe Savings Model.”