Lockheed Martin to self-fund $7 billion in F-35 production investment
The Pentagon announced Thursday a 10-year framework agreement with Lockheed Martin covering 850 F-35 Lightning II aircraft for the U.S. military, hundreds more for international customers, and a suite of spare parts and other gear. The deal would lock in Lockheed Martin’s plan to produce 156 jets annually in the coming years. Pentagon leaders pledged to buy the fighters over the next 10 years, “the longest commitment among recent Trump administration efforts to set its suppliers on a wartime footing,” according to The Wall Street Journal.
The framework announced Thursday is a step toward a final contract, which would need tens of billions of dollars of congressional funding to cement.
Pentagon officials have said that firm multiyear purchase commitments make buying weapons more efficient. Suppliers to military programs often complain about challenges in long-term planning as a result of inconsistent levels of appropriations from Congress.
“This multiyear framework strengthens the way we can plan and invest in the F-35 enterprise,” Lockheed Martin Chief Executive Jim Taiclet said.
The Defense Department said Lockheed Martin agreed to self-fund $7 billion of investment in the long-term production effort.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the F-35 program “has already been called the world’s most expensive weapon,” with a projected $2 trillion cost to buy, operate and maintain over its lifetime. A ticker line displayed with The Wall Street Journal report showed Lockheed Martin (LMT) up 0.51%.
Separately, the Pentagon’s April request for fiscal 2027 spending sought more than $74 billion for drones and related technology and over $30 billion for critical munitions. In that budget briefing, officials said Patriot and THAAD interceptor stocks were under strain after use during the Iran conflict. MSI previously reported on that budget request.