Lockheed Martin has received a $6.6 billion maintenance contract from the Pentagon`s F-35 Joint Program Office. “Together with the F-35 Joint Program Office, we recognize the critical role the F-35 plays in supporting our customers` global missions and the need to provide this capability in a cost-effective manner,” said Bridget Lauderdale, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin`s F-35 program. “These contracts represent a reduction of more than 30% in cost per flight hour compared to the 2020 annual contract and illustrate the trusted partnership and commitment we share to reduce maintenance costs and increase the availability of this unmatched 5th generation weapon system.” The DoD said more than three-quarters of the work on the contract in Fort Worth, Texas, with an additional 14 percent in Redondo Beach, California. On the 29th. In November 2012, the Pentagon accepted Lot 5 of the F-35 program and purchased 32 aircraft. Lot 5 contains 22 F-35A, 3 F-35B and 7 F-35C. The contractual agreement was rushed to protect them from possible sequestration reductions. [40] However, the JSF has been called one of the most important programs that would suffer cuts if the House of Representatives did not follow the Senate`s lead in passing a bill to resolve the U.S. tax cliff. [41] [42] Lot 6 was awarded on December 28, 2012. The contract includes 18 F-35A, 6 F-35B and 7 F-35C. [43] Delivery of the Batch 6 order will begin in mid-2014. Lot 6 included the 31 aircraft for the United States, as well as 3 F-35A for Italy and 2 F-35A for Australia.
As of July 30, 2013, Lockheed had delivered 67 F-35s of the first five production batches, 28 of which are still on order. On the 30th. In July 2013, Lockheed agreed to reduce the prices of Lot 6 by 4% compared to Lot 5 and to reduce the price of Lot 7 by an additional 4%. Pricing for Lot 5 took a year, while Lots 6 and 7 took six months. Lot 6 prices are $100.8 million for the F-35A, $108.5 million for the F-35B and $120 million for the F-35C. Deliveries of Lot 7 for 35 aircraft will begin in mid-2015 and will include 19 F-35A for the USAF, 6 F-35B for the USMC, 4 F-35C for the USN, 3 F-35A for Italy, 2 F-35A for Norway and 1 F-35B for the United Kingdom. Lot 7 prices are $96.8 million for the F-35A, $104.2 million for the F-35B and $115.2 million for the F-35C. Full production of the F-35A is expected to be between $80 million and $90 million per unit.
[44] [45] An agreement for Lots 6 and 7 was formally concluded on September 24, 2013. [46] The F-35 Joint Program Office, along with each U.S. service, international operators, and the F-35 industry team, leads the F-35 support and global support solution. The annualized sustainability agreement for 2021 will cover industry activities until December 31, 2021. However, it does not include the cost of maintaining the aircraft`s F135 engine, which is negotiated in a separate contract with manufacturer Pratt & Whitney. In April 2019, U.S. Vice Admiral and Head of the Pentagon`s F-35 Office, Mathias Winter, submitted written testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives identifying Poland as a “potential future customer of military sales abroad.” [307] Later that day, Polish Defense Minister Błaszczak said, “Since the U.S. side is talking about it publicly, it means that the purchase can be accelerated,” adding, “I am satisfied with this information. This is not a surprise, because we have already started negotiations. I created the legal and financial basis for the acquisition of at least 32 fifth-generation fighter jets. [308] On April 25, U.S. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said during a visit to Warsaw that a U.S. Air Force team would travel to Poland in May to demonstrate the F-35`s capabilities. A few days later, Polish Defense Minister Błaszczak said in a television interview that signing a contract for the purchase of F-35 aircraft was “not far away.” Błaszczak hinted that the signing of the treaty could coincide with the signing of a treaty on the permanent stationing of US troops in Poland, which is expected to be agreed before the end of the year. [309] In collaboration with our industrial partner, the F-35 Joint Program Office team has negotiated cost savings and ambitious performance targets that will benefit the F-35 global sustainability company and all F-35 customers,” said Lt. Gen. Eric, who heads the F-35 Joint Program Office on behalf of the Pentagon. This sustainment contract is a positive step towards ensuring affordable life-cycle costs for our customers.â The annual contracts fund critical maintenance activities for the aircraft currently in the fleet and strengthen the company`s capabilities to support the future fleet of more than 3,000 F-35 fighter jets. In 2012, it was reported that F-35s purchased after fiscal year 2013 would include Japanese parts. [279] In 2013, the Japanese government decided that these parts would be exempt from the usual arms export ban because Japanese companies would only act as subcontractors. [280] In August 2013, it was confirmed that Japanese companies would manufacture 24 engine and radar-related components of the F-35. Mitsubishi Electric will manufacture 7 radar components, and IHI Corporation will manufacture 17 fan and turbine components of the engine. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will also be involved in one form or another in the manufacture of the rear fuselage, wings and landing gear, which will allow the Japanese industry to better understand stealth technology and manufacturing with low observability. While four F-35As ordered in 2012 will be finished products, both ordered in 2013 will include components made in Japan. The technological discoveries of the production of stealth-related components will certainly be applied to the development of the domestic Mitsubishi ATD-X. [281] Defence contractors offered upgrades to the F-35 outside of formal program contracts. In 2013, Northrop Grumman announced the development of a Directional Infrared Countermeasures (dirCM) suite called Threat Nullification Defensive Resource (ThNDR). The countermeasure system would share the same space as the Distributed Aperture System (DAS) sensors and act as a laser missile jammer to protect against infrared target missiles. [67] The agreement funds the maintenance of the F-35 air system for U.S. and international customers during FY21 with options for FY22 and FY23 that would bring the total contract value to $6.6 billion. .