The U.S. Department of Defense agreed with Lockheed Martin to build some 375 F-35 fighter jets over three years.
«We are pleased to announce that the Department and Lockheed Martin reached a handshake agreement for the next F-35 lot buy on a basis of 375 aircraft,» said William LaPlante, the Pentagon’s chief weapons buyer.
According to Reuters, the deal could be worth as much as US$30 billion.
The «handshake» deal is a starting point for finalizing contract pricing and award, which will likely not be locked in for several weeks if not months. So the ultimate value of the deal – and the price for each jet variant – is still uncertain.
The Pentagon said the final aircraft quantity in this agreement might change based on any «adjustments made by the U.S. Congress in the Fiscal Year 2023 budget and any orders requested by international partners.»
Lockheed said in a statement that «in the midst of continued COVID-19 impacts and decreased F-35 quantities, the F-35 enterprise was able to achieve a cost per jet lower than record-breaking inflation trends.»
This agreement is to be understood in light of Lockheed Martin’s predictions that the price of the aircraft could increase as economies of scale diminish and supply chains stumble as a result of the impact of COVID-19 and the successive cuts in F-35 orders in the Department of Defense’s fiscal budgets in recent years.
According to the Airforcemag website, Both the JPO (F-35 Joint Program Office) and Lockheed have suggested that the years-long pattern of lot-over-lot unit price reductions on the F-35 will end with Lot 15-17 because the package includes more-capable aircraft and because the military services have reduced their annual buys in anticipation of ramping up again when the Block 4 version of the airplane becomes available.
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The purchase of 375 F-35 fighters would involve an average production of 125 aircraft per year, which would be from lots 15 to 17, and would be available for the U.S. military or international partners and customers.
