The U.S. Department of Defense issued two contract modifications totaling more than $165 million to Lockheed Martin Aeronautics for its work on the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter program. Lockheed is the primary contractor on the vast F-35 program, which counts more than 1,900 suppliers in 48 states and 10 foreign countries.
The F-35 is a series of fighter jets deployed for ground attack and combat, and available in three variants – for the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, and for the defense forces of more than a dozen other nations.
The first contract modification awards $92.9 million for procuring long-lead materials, parts, and components, plus related support for production of Lot 21 of the F-35 program, specifically for non-DoD partners and foreign military sales customers. This modification is comparable to one issued in March concerning Lot 20. Both Lot 20 and Lot 21 were authorized in a DoD award from late 2021, with production to begin this year.
The Pentagon noted the work assigned under the new modification will be completed in May 2031. The activities related to the assignment will be carried out by Lockheed mainly in Fort Worth, Tex., and El Segundo, Calif., with smaller projects to be assigned to Lockheed operations in the U.K., Italy, Florida, New Hampshire, Maryland, and California.
A second contract modification awarded to Lockheed Martin Aeronautics is valued at $72,107,096, for “agile software development required to enhance the functionality of combat data systems’ common reprogramming tool minimum viable capability release, to support F-35 Lightning II air system capabilities and configurations, for the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, and non-DoD partners.
Work for this assignment will be performed in Fort Worth and at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, through December 2028..
As it continues to supply up to 20 new aircraft per month, Lockheed is working to implement the Pentagon’s Technology Refresh-3 initiative for the F-35 – for new models and for hundreds of F-35s delivered and in service. TR-3 will institute more advanced flight control software, improved data-processing capabilities, greater computer memory, and enhanced graphical displays that will be compatible with the upcoming Block 4 upgrade to the aircraft.
Block 4 is expected to establish more advanced electronic warfare capabilities for the fighter jets by 2029.
