Biggest Contract Yet for the F-35
Budget

Biggest Contract Yet for the F-35

ISSEI KATO

The Pentagon is close to a final agreement with Lockheed Martin for the largest batch of F-35 stealth jets, Bloomberg’s Julie Johnsson and Anthony Capaccio reported Monday.

The contract for 478 jets would be worth about $34 billion, stretched out over several years, and would bring the total for F-35 orders to 978, out an expected run of at least 3,100.

The per unit price is expected to drop throughout the contract, hitting the $80 million mark about half way through the production run for some variants.

Even so, the jet is still undergoing testing and is months away from entering its “full rate” production schedule. And the long-term cost of the F-35 program continues to rise, increasing to $1.196 trillion in the latest assessment from the Pentagon.

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