Lockheed Martin, Pentagon Strike F-35 Production Deal

The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin have settled on a price of roughly $3.8 billion for the next batch of F-35 fighters, after more than a year of negotiations, according to program sources.

A few details remain to be worked out on low-rate initial production (LRIP) Lot 5 for the Joint Strike Fighter program, though the contract is likely to be signed in days.

LRIP 5 includes 32 fighters, the same number ordered in the last lot by the Pentagon. Despite no increase in the numbers, prime contractor Lockheed Martin says the 22 conventional-takeoff-and-landing aircraft in the lot will be 50% less expensive than the first production models that were built in LRIP 1. At that time, the price was $220.8 million for a CTOL aircraft.

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