Lockheed Martin is receiving $5.1 billion in three contracts for the F-35 Lightning II fighter, including Block 4 related upgrades, DoD said on Aug. 28.
The largest contract–$3.9 billion through September 2028–is for “training system and simulation design, development, integration, test, production, deployment, modifications/upgrades, and sustainment,” the Pentagon said.
Lockheed Martin is to perform 60 percent of the work at its Missiles and Fire Control business in Orlando, Fla.; 30 percent in Fort Worth, Texas–the location of the company’s F-35 plant; and 10 percent outside the United States.
Orlando makes the F-35’s electro-optical targeting system (EOTS), which the F-35 program reported in 2022 was wearing out more quickly than foreseen.
In a May report, the Government Accountability Office said that the F-35 program reported that the EOTS window “does not meet requirements when operating in certain environments—like those with high amounts of sand and dust.”
“The program office is using recurring inspections to mitigate the issue…and the program completed testing and fielded new equipment in 2024, according to program officials,” GAO said. “The program is also working with Lockheed Martin and its window suppliers to improve window durability and expects to qualify a new window in 2024.”
For Block 4 jets, Lockheed Martin has proposed Advanced EOTS, which is to have short-wave infrared and high-definition television upgrades, an infrared marker and improved image detector resolution.
“These enhancements increase F-35 pilots’ recognition and detection ranges, enabling greater overall targeting performance,” the company has said.
The second Aug. 28 F-35 award, a more than $1 billion contract modification, was for “continued engineering, maintenance, logistics, manpower, and material support” for F-35 development labs and flight testing, and other parts, cyber, software, and foreign military sales’ support.
The developmental labs and flight tests “are critical” to Block 4, the F-35 program said.
The third Aug. 28 F-35 award–$194 million–is to support “the initial depot capability of site activation and material for repairs capabilities at military service depot locations across the U.S.,” DoD said.
The F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) said on Aug. 29 that the latter contract is for two activities–the first “to support the initial activation of depot repair for the first increment of Block 4 capability, which is on time and slated for 2030.”
“The second part is to provide additional materials to already activated depots currently supporting the F-35 enterprise,” the F-35 JPO said.
A version of this story originally appeared in affiliate publication Defense Daily.