The F-35 fighter jet’s parts were mistakenly sent to China after a UPS employee missed a critical export warning email. The Pentagon and State Department are investigating how sensitive military stealth technology was shipped.
Lockheed Martin announced a new production and sustainment framework for the F-35 Lightning II, which the company said will support the production of 850 aircraft for the U.S. military over the next 10 years.
The framework also covers associated initial spares, 10 years of modification kits, and sustainment and international customer orders, continuing a production rate of 156 aircraft per year.
The F-35 Lightning II is a multirole fifth-generation fighter with stealth capabilities used by the three branches of the U.S. military and a number of American allies.
“This multiyear framework strengthens the way we can plan and invest in the F-35 enterprise,” said Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet.
“With the greater certainty that comes from the U.S. government’s transformative approach to F-35 production and sustainment, we can make the upfront investments needed to expand capacity, improve efficiency and build a more resilient supply chain,” Taiclet explained.
“That’s good for the taxpayer, good for our suppliers and, most importantly, good for the United States and its allies.”
Lockheed Martin announced a new 10-year framework for producing and sustaining F-35 fighters. (U.S. Air National Guard/Tech. Sgt. Adam Keele/168th Wing/DVIDS)
The new framework is pending multiyear authority and appropriations from Congress, which, if approved, would allow the company and the F-35 Joint Program Office to finalize contract terms, pricing and schedules under a formal contract award.
Lockheed Martin said the agreement is expected to save billions of dollars through long-term pricing and industry volume discounts.
The company added that the framework will address priorities from the Department of Defense and congressional priorities to improve the readiness of the F-35 program.
The F-35 Lightning II is in use by the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, as well as a number of U.S. allies around the world. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Nicolas Myers/Air Force Thunderbirds/DVIDS)
The announcement said that long-term contracts with suppliers will allow for bulk procurement of raw materials and critical parts to reduce turnaround times and bottlenecks. The company said that will improve mission-capable rates through the elimination of annual contracting cycles that have constrained the industrial base.
OJ Sanchez, president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, said the multiyear framework “gives suppliers stability to plan for the future and invest with confidence, improving readiness across the F-35 fleet.”
Lockheed Martin said the program will support 317,000 jobs in the U.S. and generate about $79 billion in annual economic activity over the next decade.
It added that the multiyear procurement model will bring economies of scale that lower costs and boost readiness for all F-35 customers, reinforcing confidence in the program’s global sustainment network and improve interoperability across allied fleets.
The announcement noted that there are more than 1,375 F-35s currently fielded by militaries around the world, and the fleet has surpassed 1 million flight hours.
It added that the F-35 operates from 42 bases around the world, with 13 countries operating it on their home soil.
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