Lockheed gets new F-35 manager with long history in the program

Chauncey McIntosh will become vice president and general manager of the F-35 program at Lockheed Martin starting December 1, the defense company announced on October 9. He succeeds Bridget Lauderdale, who is retiring after 38 years with the company and nearly four years at the helm of the F-35 program.

McIntosh has been Lauderdale's deputy since June but has had several career moves at Lockheed and led parts of the Joint Strike Fighter program, spanning more than nine of his 24 years at Lockheed. He led F-35 training and logistics activities, F-35 development and F-35 Joint Reprogramming Systems and was senior manager of the F-35 Simulation and Systems Integration Laboratory.

His last job before returning to the F-35 enterprise was as vice president and general manager of Integrated Warfare Systems and Sensors, which oversees the Navy Aegis program. During this time, he “oversaw the successful transformation of Aegis software development” and was responsible “for the strategic, operational and financial performance of missile defense, radar, shipbuilding, directed energy and combat systems integration programs designed to advance customer capabilities “Help achieve mission success,” Lockheed said in a news release.

Previously, McIntosh was vice president and general manager of Training and Logistics Solutions, where he “led the strategic growth of mission readiness and sustainment programs, including the F-35,” according to the company.

Prior to his work on the F-35, McIntosh was an F-22 test project manager and before that, operations manager of the F-22 Integration Lab. He started at Lockheed in 2000 as a software/avionics engineer. He previously worked as a software developer at General Dynamics.

During his tenure at Lockheed Martin, McIntosh “held numerous positions of increasing responsibility in program and project management, software development, systems engineering and avionics design for the F-35, F-22, C-5, P-3 and S-3 aircraft “3 platforms,” the company said. “McIntosh is a 2003 graduate of the Lockheed Martin Engineering Leadership Development Program and a 2013 graduate of the Lockheed Martin Program Management Development Program.”

Lockheed may have chosen McIntosh because of his extensive knowledge and success in software engineering, which will dominate the program's upcoming phases.

In his new position, he will be “responsible for further strengthening positive customer experiences by strengthening and continually increasing the performance and reliability of the F-35; Presentation of significant program progress; and ensure the F-35 program meets the speed, agility, quality and affordability requirements that U.S. and international customers deserve and expect,” Lockheed said.

Greg Ulmer, president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics and a former F-35 program manager himself, said McIntosh is “an exceptional leader with strong qualifications needed to lead the F-35 program.” His selection shows the strength and depth Lockheed Martin’s leadership succession planning.”

The F-35 is the Defense Department's largest program and aims to provide more than 2,200 fighter jets to the U.S. military and potentially thousands more to international customers. With the latest orders, 19 countries will deploy the fifth-generation F-35.

McIntosh takes over the F-35 amid significant program transitions. Deliveries of the fighter jet recently resumed after the finished jets were stored for a year straight after production. The delay was because the fighter jets were built with the Tech Refresh 3 update for software, processors and displays, which the Pentagon rejected because flight testing of that new suite was incomplete. This is still the case, but the need to integrate aircraft into the various units led the Joint Program Office to allow deliveries to resume with a “truncated” TR-3 software package. Testing of the full suite is expected to be completed next year.

The F-35's Block 4 upgrade – based on the TR-3 – is gaining momentum, and the fighter's F135 engine is also undergoing an upgrade to give the aircraft more power, cooling and electrical power.

Lockheed delivered the 1,000th F-35 to an Air National Guard unit this summer. The U.S. Air Force has set a goal of purchasing 1,763 F-35s, but has only delivered around 450 jets so far.