{"id":31866,"date":"2025-10-01T11:08:32","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T08:08:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/?p=31866"},"modified":"2025-10-01T11:10:47","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T08:10:47","slug":"us-finalizes-24-3-billion-contract-with-lockheed-martin-for-296-f-35-fighter-jets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/us-finalizes-24-3-billion-contract-with-lockheed-martin-for-296-f-35-fighter-jets\/","title":{"rendered":"US finalizes $24.3 billion contract with Lockheed Martin for 296 F-35 fighter jets"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

4 minute read<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin have reached a final agreement worth $24.3 billion to produce and deliver 296 latest F-35 Joint Strike Fighters under Lots 18 and 19. \u00a0The contract concludes negotiations that stretched over several years and follows a \u201chandshake deal\u201d reached ten months earlier.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The deal consists of a $12.5 billion modification for Lot 18, including scope for Lot 19, which builds on a separate $11.8 billion agreement signed in December 2024. The $24.3 billion deal covers 148 aircraft each in production lots 18 and 19, according to the contract<\/mark><\/a> announcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The average cost across all variants and customers is calculated at $82.4 million per aircraft. This figure does not include the F135 engines, which are contracted separately with RTX\u2019s Pratt & Whitney and provided as government-furnished equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Pentagon spokesman noted that unit costs increased compared to previous lots but emphasized that the total settlement price remained below inflation indices. \u201cCost per aircraft varies as a function of quantity, variant mix, and economic forces,\u201d the spokesman said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lockheed Martin<\/mark><\/a> stated that the increase in price per jet from previous years was \u201cless than the rate of inflation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Production and delivery<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lockheed Martin will primarily build the jets at its facility in Fort Worth, Texas. Deliveries under the new lots are expected to begin in 2026. Lot 20 is projected to be negotiated under a multiyear production contract, now that the F-35<\/mark><\/a> is officially in full-rate production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The contract covers aircraft for the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps, as well as for international partners and Foreign Military Sales customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lot 19 deliveries include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n