Pentagon Says Awarded $7.8 Bln in F-35 Contract to Lockheed Martin

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US Defense Department has concluded a nearly $8 billion-contract for F-35 fighter jets with Lockheed Martin, the Pentagon has announced.

"Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $7,842,191,056 fixed-price incentive (firm-target), firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee modification (P00019) to a previously awarded contract (N0001920C0009)," the Pentagon said in a Friday statement, adding that "This modification adds scope to procure 127 F-35 Lot 16 aircraft, to include 89 F-35A aircraft, 23 F-35B aircraft, and 15 F-35C."

According to the release, the contract also stipulates "support of F-35 Lot 15 aircraft procurements and associated auxiliary equipment in support of the Joint Strike Fighter program for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, non-U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) participants, and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers."

Earlier this month, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) announced in a new report that the US Department of Defense was considering to spend an additional $14.2 billion to further upgrade and address continuing deficiencies in its controversial F-35C Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program over the next five years.

The F-35 is the most expensive military system ever recorded and its overall cost rose in 2021 to $412 billion from $398 billion, a Department of Defense report said in September 2022.

In the first half of December, a US F-35B fifth-generation fighter jet crashed during a test flight at a base in the state of Texas. In October, a F-35A crashed in the state of Utah at Hill Air Force Base near Salt Lake City.