Niles plant soars in Lockheed fighter jet

By KALEA HALL

khall@vindy.com

NILES

Tim Ryan takes Flight

Video

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, flew a F-35 simulator today and didn't crash. Lockheed Martin brought in the simulator to show Arconic in Niles, its supplier, what the final product is like to fly. Arconic makes 100 percent of the titanium used on the cutting edge fighter jet.

Inside a plant on Warren Avenue sits an F-35 Lightning II flight simulator ready to show the world its capabilities.

Lockheed Martin, producer of the fighter jet, brought the simulator to the Arconic plant in Niles to show what the plant helps to produce. All of the titanium on the jet comes out of the local plant that employs 650.

“The team here in Niles casts titanium for the most capable aircraft in the world,” said Jeremy Halford, president for Arconic Titanium and Engineered Products.

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, was the first to test out the F-35 simulator, and he landed it without crashing.

“The technology in it is incredible,” Ryan said after his simulation.

The F-35 is a fifth-generation fighter that combines “advanced stealth with fighter speed and agility, fully fused sensor information, network-enabled operations and advanced sustainment,” according to the F-35 website.

J.R. McDonald, vice president of Air Force programs, Lockheed Martin government affairs, described the F-35 as a “Star Wars” jet, which makes it an unfair fight for the enemy.

“You will see that survivability and lethality as you go up against current and future threats,” he said.

Arconic has been a part of the F-35 program since 2003.

Titanium from the Niles Arconic plant is sent out to plants where 1,600 different components for the F-35 are constructed. Lockheed has 1,400 suppliers in 46 states and Puerto Rico for the F-35.

Today, there are more than 200 F-35s in flight. All branches of the military and U.S. allies are able to participate in the program.

This year, 66 F-35s will be delivered; next year, 90; and 110 the following year. In total, there will be 3,170 F-35s built by Lockheed.

“All of those airplanes mean jobs,” McDonald said.

In Ohio, Lockheed has 41 suppliers for the F-35 that support 1,960 direct and indirect jobs, bringing the total economic impact of the F-35 program in the state to $168.8 million.

The F-35-A variant for the Air Force costs $94.6 million.

“This stuff is expensive, but if we don’t do it, then no one else can do it,” Ryan said. “Just leave here knowing that this isn’t some wasted spending. We are protecting a very important concept.”

Arconic in Niles was formerly the RTI Niles plant, and before that, it was known as RMI Titanium Co. Alcoa Corp. purchased RTI in 2015. In November 2016, Arconic split from its parent company Alcoa, which renamed the plant Arconic.

“It’s my job and our job that the money we are spending gets down to the steelworkers,” Ryan said. “We want to make sure that money is spent in the U.S. and in places like Niles, Ohio.”