A rocky month between Lockheed Martin and the Pentagon ended on a friendly note worth $1.3 billion.
Aerospace giant Lockheed Martin was not thrilled in early November when the Pentagon unilaterally finalized its Lot 9 contract — worth over $6 billion — for 57 F-35 fighter jets. The company may still appeal the decision in court, but it was not complaining Monday when the U.S. issued a $1.3 billion down payment for its 10th batch of F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters.
The Pentagon’s long-term plan, which will cost taxpayers roughly $400 billion dollars, is to secure 2,443 of the next-generation aircraft.
“With a complex production line and a dynamic supply chain, it was important to obligate funds via a UCA so that no major delays would be seen in production,” Joint Program Office (JPO) spokesman Joe DellaVedova said Monday, Aviation Week reported. “We are confident the finer terms of the LRIP 10 contract [low-rate initial production] will be settled over the next few months.”
Sources close to the project told Reuters on Nov. 2 that a Lot 10 contract is likely to end in 2017 with a 94-plane deal.
Other partners on the project include Northrop Grumman, Pratt & Whitney and BAE Systems.
SEE ALSO: F-35 comes with $400K helmet; pilot can ‘see’ through plane
Ten nations in total — including allies like Australia, Britain, Israel, Italy and South Korea — have already placed orders for the multirole fighter.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.