Goodrich Corporation is to develop polymer matrix composite (PMC) landing gear drag braces for the F-35 Lightning II aircraft for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.
Goodrich has also signed an agreement with Netherlands-based Fokker Landing Gear for the supply of PMC drag braces for the F-35’s main landing gear.
Under the three-year agreement, signed at the Farnborough Air Show, Goodrich and Fokker will work together to design, qualify and produce prototype PMC drag braces.
The PMC drag braces will be incorporated into the main landing gear for F-35 conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) and short take-off vertical landing (STOVL) variants.
Fokker will perform detailed component design and qualification in the Netherlands, while Goodrich will perform system-level design and integration at its landing gear facilities in Cleveland, Ohio, and Fort Worth, Texas.
The PMC materials will reduce weight and lower maintenance costs over the life of the F-35 compared with the metallic drag braces.
The new design will produce a common PMC brace used on both the CTOL and STOVL variants, and increase commonality to hardware used on the carrier variant (CV) F-35.
