Evaluation Engineering - 7

in Europe than any other firm
in 2019. The company filed
3,524 applications, more than
600 more than filed by No. 2
Samsung Electronics Co. Most
of Huawei's applications were
in digital communications,
specifically aimed at 5G. The
Trump administration has
urged European countries to
desist from doing business
with Huawei, over claims that
the company is affiliated with
the Chinese Communist Party,
and that its 5G equipment
could potentially be used for
spying. Huawei has consistently denied the allegations.

500th F-35 fighter jet
delivered to Air Force
The F-35 Joint Program
Office and prime contractor
Lockheed Martin recently
recorded a historic milestone
for the single-seat, single-engine fighter jet: Delivery of the
500th production F-35 fighter
aircraft to the Burlington, Vt.
Air National Guard Base. The
jet is a U.S. Air Force F-35A
with a full complement of
radar and electronic-warfare
(EW) systems. The 500 aircraft
include numerous variations
for different types of missions,
for U.S. and international customers alike: 354 F-35A conventional takeoff and landing

(CTOL) fighters, 108 F-35B
short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) fighters, and 38
F-35C carrier variant (CV)
aircraft. The 500 F-35 variants have amassed a total of
250,000 flight hours, including
training and developmental
test jets.
"These milestones are a
testament to the talent and
dedication of the joint government, military and industry teams," said Greg Ulmer,
vice-president and general
manager of Lockheed Martin's
F-35 program. "The F-35 is delivering an unprecedented 5th
Generation combat capability
to the warfighter at the cost
of a 4th Generation legacy
aircraft."
The F-35 is the result of
design and production teamwork by leading U.S. and international manufacturers.
For example, while Lockheed
Martin is the prime contractor, Northrop Grumman and
BAE Systems contribute the
design and construction of
center and aft fuselages, respectively, along with expertise on advanced electronic
tactical systems. The F135 the
world's most powerful fighter
engine. The F-35 operates from
23 bases worldwide. More
than 985 pilots are trained to

The 500th F-35 multiple-role fighter aircraft was built for delivery to the Air
National Guard in Burlington, Vt.
Lockheed Martin

fly and over 8,890 engineers/
technicians are trained to
maintain the aircraft.

Global fab equipment
spending poised to
set record in 2021
Global fab equipment spending is expected to experience
a modest recovery this year
after a lackluster 2019, paving
the way for a robust year of
investments in the semiconductor industry in 2021, according to a report by SEMI.
Over the near term at least,
look for no big bounds in average fab equipment spending,
according to the latest update of the SEMI World Fab
Forecast report. The forecast
shows a 3% year-over-year
(YoY) growth to US$57.8 billion recovery in 2020. SEMI
is predicting that the picture
will brighten in the second
half of this year as a recovery
starts to take hold.
Despite expected interference from the coronavirus
outbreak, China equipment
spending will grow about
5% YoY to over US$12 billion this year and surge 22%
YoY, or US$15 billion, in 2021.
Investments by Samsung, SK
Hynix, SMIC and YMTC will
drive the growth.
In 2021, Taiwan is expected
to be the top region in spending in 2020 with nearly US$14
billion, but sink to third in
2021 w ith US$13 billion.
Korea is expected to be the
top spender in 2021 with a
26% increase to US$17 billion.
Southeast Asia (mainly
Singapore) will also register
robust growth of 33% YoY, to
US$2.2 billion, in 2020 and
26% in 2021.

Lagging the pack , the
Americas will spend less
in 2020 than in 2019, with
fab equipment investments
plunging 24% to US$6.2 billion, and extend the downturn with a 4% decline in
2021.

TE Connectivity
acquires majority share
of First Sensor AG
TE Connectiv ity Ltd., a
global industrial technology
company in connectivity
and sensing solutions, completed its public takeover of
First Sensor AG (XTRA: SIS).
TE now holds 71.87% shares
of First Sensor.
First Sensor, founded as a
technology start-up in the
early 1990s, is a global player
in sensor technology. With its
expertise in chip design and
production, as well as microelectronic packaging, it
develops and produces standard sensors and customerspecific sensor solutions in
the fields of photonics, pressure and advanced electronics for applications within the
industrial, medical and transportation markets. It has six
German locations along with
development, production and
sales sites in the USA, Canada,
China, the Netherlands, Great
Britain, France, Sweden and
Denmark, along with a worldwide partner network.
In combining the First
Sensor and TE portfolios, TE
will be able to offer an even
broader product base, including innovative, marketleading sensors, connectors
and systems plus best-inclass capabilities, that supports the growth strategy of
TE's sensors business and TE
Connectivity as a whole.

APRIL 2020 EVALUATIONENGINEERING.COM

7
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Evaluation Engineering

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