Lockheed Martin announced today it would bring new F-16 manufacturing work to its facility in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The work will generate 80 new jobs in the city and the company plans to lease a new building to accommodate it. Wayne Davis, director at Lockheed Martin’s Johnstown site, says Lockheed Martin continues to see demand for new F-16s around the world, requiring development of additional parts manufacturing sites to ensure it can keep up with demand. F-16 parts to be produced in Johnstown include the aft engine access covers, engine access doors, F-1 fuel tank, and inlet. Upon completion in Johnstown, the parts will be shipped to Greenville, South Carolina, for final assembly and integration into the F-16s on the production line.
This is in addition to F-16 component and sub-assembly work already performed at the site today. Early work in Johnstown will kick off this year, with the bulk of hiring and other significant efforts beginning in 2022. In addition to the F-16 work, the Johnstown facility also provides parts and services for the F-35 and F-22 fighter jets, and the C-130 military transport aircraft. In addition to the nearly 400 jobs already in place at the site today, Lockheed Martin maintains a strong presence in the Johnstown community, giving more than $42,000 to local organizations and efforts last year.
The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a strategic and valuable choice for many customers around the world seeking advanced, 4th generation fighter aircraft capabilities, regional and worldwide partnerships, and affordable lifecycle costs. More than 3,000 F-16s are operating today in 25 countries. The F-16 has flown an estimated 19.5 million flight hours and at least 13 million sorties. The F-16 Block 70/72 combines capability upgrades, most notably the advanced Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar with a new avionics architecture, and structural upgrades to extend the structural life of the aircraft by more than 50 percent beyond that of previous production F-16 aircraft.
Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in North Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington, D.C., area. Lockheed Martin employs approximately 110,000 people worldwide as of January 2020. Half of the company’s annual sales are to the U.S. Department of Defense. Lockheed Martin is also a contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Lockheed Martin operates in four business segments: Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control (MFC), Rotary and Mission Systems (RMS), and Space.
