Honeywell is partnering with RFD Australia Pty Ltd, part of Beaufort Group, to provide sustainment support for the Royal Australian Air Force and the wider Asia Pacific F-35 fleet.
Upon activation of the new depot, Honeywell will license RFD Australia to provide maintenance, repair and overhaul activities its F-35 back up oxygen system. Once repaired, the back-up oxygen products will ultimately go back into the F-35 global spares pool.
The primary purpose of the back-up oxygen is to ensure pilots have a continuous supply of breathable oxygen while flying in high-altitude environments under extreme conditions.
Having a reliable back-up oxygen system improves the overall mission continuity of the F-35 because pilots can execute their missions with a greater assurance they will not face oxygen deprivation.
The RFD Australian depot facility in Australia will provide additional capacity to repair these BOS products. At present, these repairs are only supported out of the Honeywell Yeovil facility in England.
The activation of a new depot in the region will significantly improve F-35 sustainment activities in Asia-Pacific, improving reliability and effective maintenance of the BOS. Most importantly, it will increase efficiency in the repair pool and reduce turnaround times for maintenance and repair of the F-35 fleet in the Asia-Pacific region.
“Our partnership with RFD Australia is a defining moment as we work together to strengthen the local F35 maintenance, repair and overhaul capabilities in Australia to support the Royal Australian Air Force and the APAC fleet,” said Honeywell Aerospace’s Lee Davis. “The activation of the RFD Australia depot will enhance mission continuity and improve F-35 sustainment activities across Asia Pacific.”
“RFD Australia has a proud history of providing safety-critical solutions to the Australian Defence Force, and this partnership with Honeywell will further enhance our capabilities in support of the F-35,” said RFD Australia MD Paul Sedgman.
Honeywell has a longstanding track record of supplying advanced systems to an array of fighter jets. Each F-35 contains more than 100 unique Honeywell parts, including avionics systems, inertial navigation systems, engine fuel controls, wheels and brakes and the power and thermal management system.
Honeywell’s power and thermal management system combines all the functions of an auxiliary power unit, emergency power unit, environmental control system and thermal management system in one highly integrated package. The power and thermal management system from Honeywell is the only system of its kind in operation, with its operational performance and maturity proven throughout the more than one million flight hours of over 1,080 F-35 aircraft delivered to date.
