Pentagon and Lockheed Secure Ten‑Year Framework Pact for F‑35 Production and Sustainment

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon and defense contractor Lockheed Martin today announced a framework agreement that will govern F‑35 Joint Strike Fighter production and sustainment for the next ten years, potentially launching a transformative arrangement for the stealth aircraft’s enterprise, provided Congress approves and outstanding questions are resolved.

The pact, which encompasses a minimum of 850 U.S. aircraft across ten production lots—including initial spare parts—and extends ten years of sustainment and upgrade kits, was disclosed in statements from both the Pentagon and Lockheed. Breaking Defense earlier reported that the two parties were negotiating a multi‑year arrangement.

According to the Pentagon’s statement, Lockheed will contribute $7 billion toward unspecified initiatives for the F‑35 program under the deal. Lockheed’s own release indicates it will maintain the tri‑variant stealth jet’s production cadence at 156 aircraft per year.

“This agreement with Lockheed Martin demonstrates how we are reshaping the U.S. defense industrial base to produce at speed and scale,” said Pentagon acquisition chief Michael Duffey in the department’s release. “By linking financial incentives to performance, we are guaranteeing that our warfighters receive the lethal capabilities required to fight and win.”

Lockheed CEO Jim Taiclet stated in the company’s release that the framework “enhances our ability to plan and invest in the F‑35 enterprise,” providing “greater certainty” to make the necessary upfront investments for expanding capacity, boosting efficiency, and constructing a more resilient supply chain.

Under the Trump administration, the Pentagon has pursued a series of framework agreements for high‑demand weapons—such as munitions—to increase long‑term production and achieve cost savings through economies of scale, officials maintain. However, this latest arrangement differs from previous frameworks in that it does not raise the F‑35’s production rate.

The announcements leave unanswered critical questions, including the total cost to taxpayers and the projected savings the Pentagon anticipates from the multi‑year procurement approach.

As noted in Lockheed’s release, the company and the F‑35 Joint Program Office will “finalize contract terms, pricing, and schedules through a formal award” pending congressional authorization and accompanying funding.

A ten‑year pact of this nature is expected to be valued in the tens of billions of dollars. A recent two‑lot F‑35 production deal covered roughly 300 aircraft and was priced at $24.3 billion.

Congress is currently considering multi‑year procurement authority for the F‑35, which is flown by the Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy. The Senate Armed Services Committee’s fiscal 2027 defense authorization bill contains language that would allow the Pentagon to enter multi‑year contracts for the aircraft. The House version includes a comparable provision, albeit with additional safeguards.

The House measure would withhold authorization until the Secretary of Defense certifies that the contract provides “the full complement of initial spare parts and alternate mission equipment for each aircraft to be procured” and that the multi‑year contract delivers cost savings of at least 5 %.

Moreover, neither the Senate nor House versions explicitly authorize a multi‑year sustainment agreement, leaving a critical element of the broader proposal unaddressed. Historically, maintenance arrangements for the jet have been a contentious issue.

The program previously pursued a five‑year performance‑based logistics (PBL) sustainment agreement, but negotiations collapsed because officials could not meet a congressional mandate to prove that the PBL would either lower costs or improve readiness.

A further complication is the aircraft’s extensive international footprint. A Lockheed spokesperson noted that the agreement “will not alter the production slot allocation process” among international buyers and would, if anything, reduce costs for foreign customers over time.

“The Joint Program Office will retain control of the production order for all F‑35 customers,” the spokesperson added. “International F‑35 operators are a vital component of the global fleet, and this agreement will extend economies of scale to their future acquisition plans.”

The F‑35 program is anticipated to continue through the 2080s, with sustainment representing a large share of its estimated $2 trillion lifecycle cost. Enhancing mission‑capable rates is a primary program objective, as prior Government Accountability Office reports have highlighted readiness challenges stemming from limited depot capacity, spare‑part shortages, and restricted maintainer access to technical data.

To date, more than 1,300 F‑35s have been delivered. However, over the past two years, numerous recently delivered aircraft have been retained for training while officials work to clear a new combat‑ready upgrade.

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