Pentagon and Lockheed Martin Agree to $1.28B F-35 Sustainment Contract

Rhea-AI Summary

Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) has been awarded a $1.28 billion Undefinitized Contract Action (UCA) by the F-35 Joint Program Office to enhance the operations and sustainment of the F-35 fleet until June 30, 2021. This contract is essential for maintaining the readiness of over 600 F-35 aircraft, facilitating training, maintenance, and global operations. The UCA aims to support a future fleet of more than 3,000 aircraft and improve mission capability rates, which are currently above 70%.

Positive

• Award of $1.28 billion UCA contract enhances F-35 fleet support.
• Improvement in mission capability rates, averaging over 70%.
• Cost per flight hour has decreased by more than 40% in five years.
• Over 600 F-35 aircraft delivered; fleet surpassed 345,000 flight hours.

Negative

• None.

FORT WORTH, Texas, Jan. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The F-35 Joint Program Office awarded the Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) industry team a $1.28 billion Undefinitized Contract Action (UCA) to support operations and sustainment of the global F-35 fleet through June 30, 2021.

"This contract ensures F-35s remain ready to fly and accomplish the warfighter's mission."-Bill Brotherton

"This contract ensures F-35s remain ready to fly and accomplish the warfighter's mission," said Bill Brotherton, Lockheed Martin F-35 program acting vice president and general manager. "We continue to see improvements in readiness and cost, and as the fleet grows, so does the opportunity for the joint government and industry team to collaborate, realizing even more long-term benefits."

The UCA provides initial critical sustainment activities for a worldwide fleet while negotiations continue on a long-term contract to build enterprise capacity and affordability to support the future fleet of more than 3,000 F-35 aircraft. The UCA funds industry sustainment experts supporting operations worldwide, individual bases, depot maintenance, pilot and maintainer training, and sustainment engineering across the globe. It also covers fleet-wide data analytics and supply chain management for part repair and replenishment to enhance overall supply availability.

The F-35 Joint Program Office, together with each U.S. Service, international operators and the F-35 industry team, leads F-35 sustainment and the Global Support Solution.

Readiness in Action
Lockheed Martin and industry teammates BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman provide critical sustainment support for over 600 aircraft in key areas such as training, base operations, repairs, global supply, and sustainment support to F-35 customers. While many think of sustainment as all of the activity after aircraft delivery, it actually begins the moment a requirement is written and design starts. The fifth generation F-35 is designed and produced with mission readiness and the warfighter's success in mind.

The F-35's reliability continues to improve, and newer production aircraft are averaging greater than 70% mission capable rates, with some operational squadrons consistently near 75%. Cost per flight hour has decreased by more than 40% during the last five years.

To further improve readiness and cost stability, the enterprise is conducting supply chain competitions and building supply capacity, synchronizing spare buys, improving parts reliability and maintainability, implementing advanced analytics tools, accelerating modifications of earlier aircraft, and supporting the stand-up of government-led regional warehouses and repair depots.

More than 600 F-35 aircraft have been delivered and are operating from 26 bases around the globe. More than 1,200 pilots and 10,000 maintainers have been trained, and the F-35 fleet has surpassed more than 345,000 cumulative flight hours.

For additional information, visit www.f35.com.

About Lockheed Martin
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 110,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.

Please follow @LMNews on Twitter for the latest announcements and news across the corporation.

 

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SOURCE Lockheed Martin Aeronautics

FAQ

What is the recent contract awarded to Lockheed Martin related to?

Lockheed Martin was awarded a $1.28 billion Undefinitized Contract Action for F-35 operations and sustainment.

How long will the F-35 sustainment contract last?

The contract is effective until June 30, 2021.

What improvements have been reported for the F-35 aircraft?

F-35 aircraft are achieving mission capability rates above 70% and cost per flight hour has decreased by over 40%.

How many F-35 aircraft have been delivered so far?

More than 600 F-35 aircraft have been delivered globally.