Quickstep was selected as sole source supplier for the C-130J flaps following an international tender programme by Lockheed Martin. Lockheed Martin representatives are scheduled to visit Quickstep’s Australian headquarters in the second quarter of 2012 to finalise contract details.
The contract could potentially be worth $75-100 million over five years
The first aircraft parts are scheduled to be delivered in 2014.
The C-130J programme represents Quickstep’s second aerospace programme following the start of manufacturing for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter in 2011.
Lockheed Martin launched the tender process for the C-130J components after current supplier, Boeing Aerostructures Australia, announced that it will relocate from Sydney to Melbourne. Quickstep has secured a right of first refusal on most of Boeing’s existing C-130J manufacturing facilities at Bankstown Airport in Sydney.
The C-130J Hercules aircraft has been in continuous production since 1954, with Lockheed Martin delivering its 2400th C-130J aircraft in January 2012.
