Courtesy Photo | Tanya Skeen, F-35 Joint Program Office’s Executive Director poses in front of an...... read more read more
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21st century threats required a transformation in combat aircraft. Military aviation capabilities at the turn of the century were set to be outpaced by the advanced sensors and weapons systems of U.S. adversaries. An elite team was assembled to develop the Fifth Generation combat capability required to secure air dominance in a rapidly-accelerating digital age.
The resulting air systems (F-35, F-22) employed today are defined by supersonic speeds, stealth properties, precision weaponry, and software designed to evolve at the speed of global threats. None of these capabilities would have been possible without the groundbreaking work of those who matured futuristic concepts into operational reality.
In her current position as the F-35 Joint Program Office’s Executive Director, Tanya Skeen recently reflected on her beginnings as a flight sciences engineer on the X-35 Program. Her love of space and airplanes set her on a path to contribute to ground-breaking technologies over the course of her career as an engineer, tester and accomplished program manager.
“I’m grateful to have been a part of the early days of the [X-35] Program, and to jump back in now in a leadership role on the [F-35] Program at this time; it’s an incredible honor. I never would have imagined, when I was a young engineer writing code and doing testing that I’d have the opportunity to work on the Program again at this level, and at this stage in capability delivery and operations – it’s awesome.”
The X-35, a concept demonstrator aircraft (CDA) developed by Lockheed Martin, would later be known as the ‘Joint Strike Fighter’. Following extensive development and tests on U.S. Service aircraft variants, the Fifth Generation air system entered production in the 2000s as the F-35 Lightning II. On October 24, 2000, Lockheed Martin's X-35A CDA completed its first flight from Palmdale, California, to nearby Edwards Air Force Base, using just over 2,000 feet of runway to take-off before climbing to 10,000 feet with the gear down. As described in 2000 by Tom Morgenfeld, Lockheed Martin’s X-35 head test pilot: “This aircraft looks and flies like a fighter.”
The test flights subsequently carried out by the X-35 government-industry team validated engineering designs, and provided data later applied to production aircraft as the X-35 program matured into the F-35 program.
Being a test engineer appealed to many of Skeen’s natural interests. “Test gives us data, and I have always appreciated how data helps me understand things. My love of data, and my love of solving problems is what made test so appealing to me.” When asked about career progression, Skeen shared that her husband, an active duty Air Force Officer, was also a test engineer. “The Air Force moved us to test places, and if you move to test places, you’d better love test especially because test bases tend to be a bit remote!”
Engineering innovation was inspirational to many who worked on the X-35 program - new ideas and designs were being presented all the time to achieve results, but didn’t always work as planned. The team learned resilience, and became even more innovative when recovering from failures. “When you speak about innovation - we saw drawings and mock ups of engines, and there was a lot of testing of engines. We refined data and learned from failures along the way,” Skeen recalled. “We tried, and failed…and we tried again.”
From that experience, she learned a memorable leadership and life lesson. “Things don’t always work the way we expect, but we have to learn and adjust, and not let smaller failures get in the way of truly big successes.”
When asked to recount the most ground breaking accomplishment she participated in during her days on the X-35 program, Skeen recalled working on the X-35B. “We were a young crew, writing control laws on the B [U.S. Marine Corps, short takeoff variant] aircraft, trying to get an airplane to move like it was a helicopter…which was very interesting for an aeronautical engineer.” Previous vertical lift aircraft had employed a direct lift engine, but the X-35B design included a new, shaft-driven lift fan system. “Building a lift fan had never been done before. I worked on flight sciences, and unlike most people on the flight sciences team, I got to work across the department – aerodynamics testing, propulsion testing, and coding of control laws - and pulling that all together. It was really exciting and rewarding”
Skeen’s early years as an engineer shaped her leadership style as an industry executive, and are applied daily in her current Department of Defense role as a member of the Senior Executive Service (SES), and Executive Director of the F-35 Joint Program Office.
“Leadership in the Department [Department of Defense] demands and requires that we bring data to drive our decision making. There are plenty of hard problems that we solve every day in acquisition. In addition to my test background, I appreciate the business side of acquisition as well. I love to talk to with our contracting community about the best acquisition strategy for a Program. Through those strategy conversations, we use data to define how best to tackle those hard problems.”
When asked what her current professional growth looks like, Skeen related that she’s focusing on personal attributes, such as communication skills and effective listening. “The engineering and hard sciences comes easy for me, but I have to also focus on improving my “softer side” and focusing on how I engage with people. I have an executive coach who helps me with blind spots, and [he] is one of the most valuable resources I have in this role.” Skeen focused on prioritizing her family as they moved from place to place during their military family experience. “My best advice is don’t get too caught up in the “perfect career”…do what makes sense to you, take on challenging positions that stretch you professionally, work really hard in every job, and remember your family is most important. Success will follow.”
Reuniting with former X-35 colleagues to celebrate the program’s anniversary and accomplishments is an exciting prospect for Tanya Skeen. “We formed a close bond, and focused on an ambitious mission that became a reality…it’s a huge privilege to be a part of that group and our shared experience.”
Now, the F-35 Lightning II is a reality, with over 560 aircraft deployed around the globe, more than 300,000 flight hours logged, and air system capability that is unsurpassed in combat aviation. Being associated with the F-35 program over time has fortified Skeen’s belief that PEOPLE are the most important aspect of technology and innovation. “It takes a lot of smart, dedicated folks to deliver a technological marvel like the F-35. It doesn’t happen without the people writing contracts, managing finances, sustaining the air system, and working future development to keep this program healthy and relevant; the human factor simply cannot be automated.”
As the F-35 Enterprise expands globally with each consecutive year, Skeen provided her outlook for the future of the program. “This air system, and F-35 capabilities are changing the way we look at warfighting. We are learning so much through current operations and our partners. With every exercise and each deployment, the impact of F-35 around the world is becoming more significant and profound.”
| Date Taken: | 11.04.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 11.05.2020 21:41 |
| Story ID: | 382467 |
| Location: | ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 1,298 |
| Downloads: | 5 |
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