DefenseLockheed Martin secures $1.14bn contract modification for 198 F-35s
Lockheed Martin has received a US$1.14 billion contract modification from the US Department of War for materials supporting the production of 198 F-35 aircraft, as announced by the Pentagon.
The contract, funds parts, materials, and components for 65 Lot 20 and 133 Lot 21 F-35s. These jets are intended for the US Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, cooperative program partners, and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers.
Funding allocations include $188 million in Air Force procurement for fiscal 2026, $115.79 million in Navy procurement for fiscal 2026, $16.23 million in Air Force procurement for fiscal 2025, $38.89 million in Navy procurement for fiscal 2025, $556.6 million from FMS customers, and $225.7 million from F-35 cooperative partners.
Primary assembly will take place in Fort Worth, which will handle 59% of the work. Additional production sites include El Segundo, California (14%), Warton, United Kingdom (9%), Cameri, Italy (4%), Orlando, Florida (4%), Nashua, New Hampshire (3%), Baltimore, Maryland (3%), San Diego, California (2%), and other international locations (2%).
The contract schedules completion of the work by December 2030. The new Pentagon contract comes about a year after former President Donald Trump ally, billionaire Elon Musk, criticized the F-35 fighter jet, which he considers obsolete.
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