ONR awarded for F-35 innovation

ARLINGTON, Va. -- The Office of Naval Research received one of the nation's top manufacturing awards for an innovative, cost-saving method for making advanced cockpit canopies, for the F-35 program. Officials from ONR's Manufacturing Technology (ManTech) program accepted the Department of Defense's Joint Defense Manufacturing Technology Achievement Award at the Defense Manufacturing Conference in San Antonio. The automated process will be used to make canopies for more than 2,000 aircraft, saving nearly $125 million over the life of the F-35 program.(Source: NNS, 12/03/14) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center; ONR's Naval Research Laboratory has a detachment at Stennis Space Center, Miss.