Lockheed wins $920 mln deal for early work on next F-35 jet order

WASHINGTON - Reuters

An F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter takes off on a training sortie at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida in this March 6, 2012 file photo. Reuters Photo

Lockheed Martin Corp has won a contract valued at $920 million to start buying materials and parts for a tenth batch of 94 F-35 fighter jets, the Pentagon announced on June 4.

The “advanced procurement” contract will allow the company to start ordering parts and material that take a long time to procure, such as titanium, according to a spokesman for the Pentagon’s F-35 program office.

Lockheed and the government are still negotiating the terms of the overall contract for jets in the 10th batch, a deal that will be valued at well over.

The order covers 78 F-35 A-model jets to be built for the U.S. Air Force, Italy, Turkey, Australia, Norway and a number of other countries; 14 F-35 B-model jets for the U.S. Marine Corps, Italy and Britain; and 2 F-35 C-model jets for the Navy and Marine Corps, according to a daily digest of large arms contracts.