Even as tensions between the United States and Iran continue to simmer, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics is stepping up its aggressive schedule to build F-35 fighter jets.
The Fort Worth, Texas company announced on Monday that it had signed a $1.9 billion deal with the Pentagon to support and sustain the global F-35 fleet in 2020.
"The F-35 continues to deliver exceptional capabilities to the field, and this contract ensures F-35s are mission ready to meet warfighter needs," Greg Ulmer, Lockheed Martin vice president and F-35 program general manager, said in an email. "The joint government and industry team continues to make significant progress improving readiness rates and reducing sustainment costs. In 2020, we will continue to optimize and advance the sustainment system. We are confident F-35 sustainment costs will be equal to or less than legacy jets."
The contract is awarded annually as a way to sustain F-35 activities, and build a manufacturing and maintenance capacity for a fleet that is expected to reach more than 3,000 aircraft worldwide.
Fort Worth-based Lockheed Martin Aeronautics also is working on lowering the overall cost of the aircraft, which are now at just over $77 million apiece. But that cost has dropped about 35% since 2015, company officials say.
More than 490 F-35 aircraft have been built, including 134 planes last year. More than 975 pilots and 8,585 maintenance workers have been trained.
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, which is based in Fort Worth, is part of Lockheed Martin Corp., a worldwide security and aerospace company that is based in Bethesda, Md.
