Photo By Heather Wilburn | From left, Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) F-35 lift systems artisans Dale Veasey...... read more read more
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C. – Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) recently achieved another first in its support of the F-35B Lightning II platform by completing the depot’s first overhaul of a key lift system component.
FRCE artisans completed work on the depot’s first three-bearing swivel module, an integral component of the F-35B lift system that enables the aircraft’s short take-off and vertical landing capabilities. The three-bearing swivel module, also known as the 3BSM, is a swiveling jet pipe that allows F-35B pilots to redirect engine thrust downward to create the rear vertical lift needed for short take-offs and vertical landings exclusive to this variant of the aircraft.
“The unique abilities of the F-35B give our aviators an advantage when they need it most, and the lift system makes that possible,” said FRCE Commanding Officer Capt. Randy Berti. “The three-bearing swivel module is an integral part of that lift system, and FRC East’s ability to service this component provides us with yet another way to support our warfighters.”
The completed 3BSM marks the first time the depot has returned this component to the global supply chain that supports F-35 sustainment for U.S. forces and international partners, said FRCE F-35 Systems Capability Establishment Lead Fred Lebrun. It coincides with the command’s official capability declaration for the component, which means that the depot has all the materiel, support equipment and staffing required test and repair an item.
Lebrun said the 3BSM is the second component of the F-35B lift system to arrive for modification at FRCE; the first was the lift fan clutch. In 2023, FRCE artisans became the first within the Department of Defense to assemble the clutch outside of the original manufacturer’s facility. Having the capacity to overhaul the 3BSM brings the depot one step closer to being able to service the entire lift system.
“This milestone represents the midpoint of declaring capability on all of the lift system,” Lebrun explained. “The clutch was kind of the big one in the beginning, and now the 3BSM really substantiates our partnership with the manufacturer, in terms of the engine components. It terms of readiness, it allows us to provide a finished product back to the supply chain; the 3BSM can go out to the fleet, and they can put that on an aircraft and be ready to go.”
This completed 3BSM is one 12 scheduled for induction at the depot in 2025, with nine currently in various stages of overhaul. FRCE will gradually ramp up service of the component to full capacity and is scheduled to receive a full slate of inductions starting in 2028. That future workload represents about 25,000 labor hours annually, Lebrun said.
FRCE Lift Systems Shop Supervisor Brandon Spang, who oversees the depot’s work on the 3BSM, said his shop is preparing to accommodate a full workload of about 50 inductions each year.
“A workload of 50 three-bearing swivel modules per year would be tremendous for the facility,” he added. “It is, of course, subject to need, but that’s what we’re structuring to be capable of.”
The success of this particular component standup relied heavily on coordination and constant communication, Lebrun noted. The unique nature of the partnership between FRCE and two distinct equipment manufacturers – Pratt and Whitney for the F135 engine that powers all three variants of the F-35, and Rolls-Royce for the lift system that is unique to the F-35B – along with intra-agency cooperation between the depot’s various facets, required exceptional teamwork.
“Everybody worked so well together, within the depot and with our external partners, and I want to stress the importance of our relationships in this endeavor,” Lebrun said. “Everything we do relies on collaboration through relationships in order to succeed.”
Establishing a capability is a complex process that can take a cross-disciplinary team several years to complete, Lebrun said.
“You try to shoot for about a three-year period of performance, although 3BSM has been planned with the entire lift system since 2018,” he explained. “Our team and the original equipment manufacturer really started working on the facility and infrastructure aspects of it in 2020, and then we started to getting equipment like the maintenance stands delivered in early 2023.”
Steven Murray, lead artisan in FRCE’s Lift Systems Shop, added that the shop’s artisans had been working toward their side of the capability establishment for about two years, together with a team representing departments across the command.
“Over that time, we started gaining access to the technical data and began to read through it and work with engineering, then set up the shop, worked with the industrial engineering technicians – there are so many steps to take before you can even put hands on any of the physical component,” Murray explained. “It took a huge team effort to make sure we were even capable to start the hands-on training and, in the end, we exceeded all expectations.
“For us, this first completion is a really big milestone because we’re trying to stand up capability on everything lift system related,” he continued. “And at the top of that pyramid would be the lift fan. We’re getting to the point now that each step we take gets us closer to the ability to say we’re fully capable in everything lift systems related, to be able to provide that one-stop shop for Joint Strike Fighter support.”
The next lift system component scheduled to come online at FRCE will be the three-bearing swivel duct, an integral part of the 3BSM that is currently serviced only at the Rolls-Royce LiftWorks facility in Indianapolis.
“The three-bearing swivel duct will be our next target, and that will play a huge role in sustaining the 3BSM,” Lebrun explained. “Once that happens, efficiency will skyrocket because we’ll be able to support both systems that ultimately support the 3BSM. It’s just a matter of time, and then both will be worked in the same building.”
Spang agreed that having both components worked in the same building will help reduce turnaround times and boost flight line readiness for the F-35B fleet.
“It will be something we will handle here and be able to execute quickly – there won’t be extended transit times or delays based on external workload,” he said. “Turnaround time should be tremendously faster at that point.”
Murray said he is also looking forward to the depot’s next phase of lift system support but doesn’t want to overlook the importance of what has been accomplished so far, and the impact that has on military aviation sustainment.
“It’s rewarding in the sense that, when you stand up these capabilities, it creates new workload and helps secure the depot’s future,” Murray said. “But there’s obviously the bigger picture: You’re creating something for the warfighter, and that means everything.”
FRCE is North Carolina's largest maintenance, repair, overhaul and technical services provider, with more than 4,000 civilian, military and contract workers. Its annual revenue exceeds $1 billion. The depot provides service to the fleet while functioning as an integral part of the greater U.S. Navy; Naval Air Systems Command; and Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers.
| Date Taken: | 08.18.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 08.18.2025 14:24 |
| Story ID: | 545872 |
| Location: | CHERRY POINT, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 115 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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