The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin have reached a tentative framework agreement covering at least 850 U.S. F-35 aircraft across 10 production lots, along with initial spares and 10 years of sustainment and modification kits, Breaking Defense reported.
The proposed arrangement would keep Lockheed’s production rate at 156 aircraft annually rather than increase the fighter’s manufacturing rate. The Pentagon also said Lockheed would fund $7 billion in unspecified F-35 program initiatives.
The framework is not yet a final contract. Lockheed and the F-35 Joint Program Office must still finalize contract terms, pricing and schedules through a formal award, subject to lawmakers granting the required authority and appropriations. The latest announcement did not disclose the initiative’s total cost to taxpayers or the savings the multiyear format is expected to produce.
Congressional provisions could impose additional conditions. The House version of the fiscal 2027 defense authorization bill would require the contract to include the full complement of initial spare parts and alternate mission equipment for each aircraft, as well as a Pentagon certification that the multiyear procurement achieves at least 5 percent savings. Neither the House nor Senate language explicitly authorizes a multiyear sustainment agreement, according to Breaking Defense.
That sustainment element is significant because the proposal follows earlier negotiations over a larger, multiyear F-35 maintenance arrangement. In an earlier report, Breaking Defense reported that officials and industry representatives had discussed bulk purchases of spare parts while questioning whether the arrangement could demonstrate long-term savings. The earlier talks also identified uncertainty over whether production and sustainment would be linked or run for the same length of time.
The new framework therefore establishes a proposed quantity and production horizon, but not yet a completed procurement contract, final pricing or a confirmed sustainment structure.