FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) – Defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. shuffled three executive positions Monday, promoting Dan Crowley to chief operating officer of its aeronautics unit.
The company said Crowley will be responsible for day to day functions of the division. For the last five years, he was general manager of Lockheed’s F-35 program.
Taking over for Crowley on that program will be Larry Lawson. Lawson had been general manager of the F-22 Raptor program since December 2004.
George Shultz, who had been the deputy manager of the F-22 program, will take over as general manager.
The changes are effective June 7.
The Pentagon restructured the $300 billion F-35 program earlier this year and withheld up to $614 million in award fees from Lockheed because its performance undercut expectations.
The company is beginning to shut down the production line for the radar-evading F-22 after years of fighting to sell more of the most advanced fighters in the world to the government.
The F-35, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter is in development with eight foreign countries. Slated to replace over a dozen aging fighters worldwide, it will become the world’s largest military fighter aircraft program.
The Pentagon’s No. 1 defense contractor also said that George Shultz, vice president and deputy general manager of the F-22 program since November 2008, would take over as general manager of that program in June.
Chris Hellman, defense analyst and director of research at the National Priorities Project, said the news of Crowley’s promotion was surprising, given cost overruns of nearly 50 percent on the F-35 program.
“Given the recent problems with the program it’s hard to avoid the perception of rewarding poor management,” Hellman said, noting that for years, Lockheed had been promoting the F-35 as a low-cost alternative to the more expensive F-22.
“When one of your selling points is the affordability of the aircraft, cost growth on the order of magnitude of 50 percent is a serious problem,” Hellman said.
Lockheed Chief Executive Robert Stevens told reporters in March that he had absolute confidence in Crowley, despite problems with the program, although he had made changes to increase corporate oversight.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates in February removed the Marine Corps general who was running the F-35 program for the Pentagon. His successor, a Navy admiral, has been appointed, but not yet confirmed by the Senate.
Daniel J. Crowley was appointed Executive Vice President of the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Joint Strike Fighter Program effective May 2, 2005. He is responsible for successful completion of the F-35 System Design and Development Program, transition to full rate production, and global deployment and sustainment of three F-35 variants for 13 military services in nine partner countries. Mr. Crowley has held several key positions with Lockheed Martin, including President of Lockheed Martin Simulation, Training & Support, where he led a 2700-person company focused on mission readiness and Vice President of Business Development and Advanced Programs for Lockheed Martin Space and Strategic Missiles responsible for strategic planning, advanced technology concepts and new business acquisition.
