Lobbying pays off.
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The Pentagon on Tuesday announced a $34 billion F-35 contract with Lockheed Martin, the largest contract yet for the defense company’s costly fighter program.
The deal is for the delivery of 478 of the aircraft.
The F-35, the crown jewel in the defense giant’s portfolio, has become one of the most challenged programs in the history of the Department of Defense. The laundry list of setbacks includes faulty ejection seats, software delays and significant helmet-display issues. The program had an initial acquisition cost of $406.5 billion.
Yet the Pentagon touted reduced costs and a quicker timetable in its announcement Tuesday.
“This agreement achieves an average 12.7% cost reduction across all three variants and gets us below $80 million for a USAF F-35A by Lot 13 – one lot earlier than planned,” Air Force Lt. Gen. Eric Fick, F-35 program executive officer, said Tuesday.
