DoD Makes ​F-35 MRO&U Component Global Assignments

The Department of Defense has assigned F-35 Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul and Upgrade (MRO&U) capability for the next tier of air vehicle and propulsion component repair capabilities Outside the Continental United States (OCONUS).

These work assignments support almost 400 repairable items on the aircraft. Examples of component repair include such categories as avionics, life support, landing gear, egress, canopy system, pumps, valves and power systems that will be repaired on the F-35.

“Increasing our international capability to repair F-35 parts is instrumental for ensuring that the warfighter maintains mission readiness,” said Vice Adm. Mat Winter, F-35 Program Executive Officer. “These global repair assignments will get F-35 parts into the hands of maintainers faster so they can fix and sustain aircraft more efficiently.”

As part of the F-35 Global Support Solution, participating nations were provided with requirements outlining repair needs for F-35 component workload. Each country was afforded the opportunity to work with their industrial base to submit responses. Regional considerations such as forward basing, aircraft phasing, and transportation also contributed to assignment decisions. Work assignments will be reviewed and updated as required by the program.

The current assignments are time-phased based on fleet need. The first overseas repair capabilities will be stood up beginning in 2021 and will serve all F-35s globally until 2025. Eventually, the demand for repairs will increase to a point where one repair capability will not be enough and the program will stand up additional regional repair capabilities, one in Europe and one in the Pacific. Thus, two component repair assignments were made: one to support global repairs from 2021 to 2025 and a second to enable support in 2025 and beyond.


2021 to 2025 Global Repair Assignments:

The Department of Defense has assigned repair components to the United Kingdom, Italy, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Israel for global repairs, with repair capability activated between 2021 to 2025. The actual activation timeframes will be determined by a country-endorsed business case to support the required activation.


2025 and Beyond: Regional Repair Assignments:

The Department of Defense has assigned components to Australia, Japan and Korea, with repair capability to be activated beginning in 2025. Similar to the global repair assignments, the actual activation timeframes will be demand-based.

View source version on F-35 Lightning II: https://www.f35.com/news/detail/dod-makes-f-35-mrou-component-global-assignments