In my own small way I had a role in this win, and the company I worked for at the time, SM&A, had an ever larger role. SM&A managed the proposal effort for Lockheed Martin at their Fort Worth facility. The effort lasted for several years and was LM's largest investment in SM&A to date. While I didn't close the deal, because I assumed the role of VP Business Development after the engagement began, I did spend time in Forth Worth over several years reviewing proposal drafts and competitive strategy.
The stakes of the outcome were enormous. Both Boeing and Lockheed had been working for years on this competition, funded in part by the DOD.
When the contract award was announced for Lockheed Martin, it was a vindication of SM&A's support to LM, the excellence of the proposal effort, and the brilliance of the proposal strategy. These details cannot be divulged here; sufice it to say that the USAF Acquisition executive at the time said that LM's proposal was the most flawless, excellent effort she had seen.
I am reminded of this because the F-35 just reached what might be its most difficult milestone, passing the STOVL (short take-off vertical landing) test at Patuxent River. The USMC will be procuring the F-35B, and it is this variant that requires STOVL, and STOVL was perhaps the most challenging part of the technical requirement for this multi-use aircraft. The only other STOVL aircraft to have ever entered production, worldwide, was the AV-8B Harrier jump-jet, which is still in operation but is technically ancient.
So, enjoy this Youtube video of the F-35B, from May 20, 2013:
Incidentally, I still remember where I was when the announcement came that LM had won the JSF. It was a Friday afternoon in October, and I had cut out early for a weekend on Catalina Island with the Indian Guides. My secretary called me, just before we lost cell phone contact, informing me that "Lockheed won!" at about 1:45 PST (4:45 (EST) that day.
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