LAI Intl. named Northrop Grumman preferred supplier for second year

LAI Intl. Inc., Los Angeles, a supplier of precision components and subassemblies for OEMs, has been honored by Northrop Grumman Corp. as a Platinum Source Preferred Supplier for quality control and on-time delivery of precision-manufactured airframe components for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. It is the second consecutive year LAI has won the award.

LAI was one of 69 firms named as Platinum Source Preferred Suppliers for 2009.

LAI has a multiyear contract to manufacture 21 different highly engineered, precision-machined titanium and aluminum structural panels that fit on the airframe of three variants of the attack aircraft F-35: a conventional-takeoff and -landing aircraft for the U.S. Air Force, a carrier variant for the U.S. Navy, and a short-takeoff and vertical-landing aircraft for the U.S. Marine Corps and the Royal Navy.

The LAI team coordinates supply chain management of several manufacturing processes — including hot-forming, CNC machining, chemical milling, finishing, and five-axis precision waterjet drilling — to supply completed components for assembly on the aircraft.