The Pentagon has assigned another $95.88 million in funding to Lockheed Martin Corp. to provide continued “infrastructure support” for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, the largest program in the U.S. defense budget. Similar to an award placed in January, and with funding (allocated in a previously assigned, cost-plus-incentive-fee contract) this award will cover ongoing costs for engineering, maintenance, logistics, manpower, and material for F-35 laboratories and developmental test flights.
The allocation comes amid some expectation that the F-35 may undergo downsizing in the 2025 U.S. Dept. of Defense budget.
The work is expected to be completed by June 2024, and nearly all of it will be conducted at Lockheed locations in the continental U.S.
The F-35 is a series of fighter jets deployed for ground attack and combat, and available in three variants, for the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Navy, as well as the defense forces of 17 other nations.
While the F-35 program has been active for nearly two decades, and nearly 1,000 jets have been completed and delivered to the USAF, USMC, and USN, Lockheed and its manufacturing partners are preparing to implement the Block 4 update that will prepare the aircraft to incorporate a range of new technological and electronic improvements, and to adopt more lethal weapons systems.
