A few days before the holiday season, the U.S. Department of Defense announced the award of a new contract modification to Lockheed Martin to ensure the production and delivery of 145 new F-35 fighter jets for the U.S. Armed Forces and its allies. The agreement, valued at $11,762,911,991, was detailed in the Pentagon’s contracting summary released on December 20.
Delving into the specifics of the new “Lot 18,” it has been confirmed that a total of 83 F-35s will be delivered to three of the four branches of the U.S. Armed Forces currently operating the platform. The breakdown is as follows: 48 F-35A models for the Air Force, 16 F-35Bs and 5 F-35Cs for the Marine Corps, and 14 F-35Cs for the Navy.
For foreign partners, the Pentagon plans to produce up to 15 F-35As and 1 F-35B for countries participating in the F-35 program, bringing the total to 99 units. The remaining 46 fifth-generation fighters under the contract will be manufactured for customers through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, with 39 F-35As and 7 F-35Bs slated for production. The manufacturing of all the contracted F-35s is expected to be completed by 2027.
Additionally, new Final Assembly and Check-Out (FACO) facilities in Cameri, Italy, and Nagoya, Japan, are set to be activated to support production. Approximately 85% of the work under this agreement will be conducted in the United States, primarily at Lockheed Martin’s facilities in Fort Worth, Texas. The remaining work will be distributed as follows: 9% in the United Kingdom, 4% in Italy, and 2% in Japan.
Currently, the U.S. operates an estimated fleet of 630 F-35s across all variants (A, B, and C). With plans to acquire up to 1,800 additional units, the U.S. faces significant challenges due to delays in updates, particularly with the TR-3 standard, which has been hindered by setbacks. These delays have impacted operational capabilities and increased associated costs by 44% compared to estimates from 2018, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published in May.
To address these issues, the U.S. has begun accepting some aircraft without fully completed updates, using them for pilot training rather than combat deployment due to the risks involved. Looking ahead to the next F-35 configuration, known as Block 4, the U.S. has partnered with Pratt & Whitney to modernize the F135 engines powering these aircraft through a $1.3 billion contract. Additionally, new weapon systems, such as the long-range SiAW missiles, are being developed to equip the F-35 fleet, with the first units delivered in November.
Images used for illustrative purposes only.
