Pentagon and Lockheed Martin agree to F-35 sustainment contracts

The F-35 Joint Program Office awarded Lockheed Martin annualised contracts covering fiscal years 2021-2023 to support operations and sustainment of the global F-35 fleet, supporting mission readiness and further reducing costs. The annual contracts fund critical sustainment activities for aircraft currently in the fleet and build enterprise capacity to support the future fleet of more than 3,000 F-35 aircraft. This includes industry sustainment experts supporting base and depot maintenance, pilot and maintainer training, and sustaining engineering for the U.S. and our allies across the globe. It also covers fleet-wide data analytics and supply chain management for part repair and replenishment to enhance overall supply availability for the fleet.

“Together with the F-35 Joint Program Office, we recognise the critical role the F-35 plays in supporting our customers’ global missions and the need to deliver this capability affordably,” said Bridget Lauderdale, Lockheed Martin vice president and general manager of the F-35 program. “These contracts represent more than a 30 percent reduction in cost per flying hour from the 2020 annualised contract, and exemplify the trusted partnership and commitment we share to reduce sustainment costs and increase availability for this unrivalled 5^th generation weapon system.”

The FY2021-2023 contracts represent a planned next step in further reducing overall operations and support costs for the F-35 program, which are shared between government and industry. Lockheed Martin has reduced cost per flight hour by 44 percent in the past five years, with a forecasted reduction of an additional 40 percent in the next five years. The cost savings in the FY21-23 annualised sustainment contracts support Lockheed Martin’s efforts to realise these goals. The savings will be achieved through improved cost and velocity in our supply chain, continued reliability improvements, and greater manpower efficiencies to provide product support solutions across the growing, global fleet.

The contracts also pave the way for a longer-term, Performance Based Logistics (PBL) agreement for the F-35 program. PBLs are an industry best practice, facilitating agile sustainment solutions for the fleet and incentivising even further affordability and performance results. The F-35 Joint Program Office, together with each US service, international operators and the F-35 industry team, leads F-35 sustainment and the Global Support Solution. The 2021 annualised sustainment contract will cover industry sustainment activities through 31 December 2021.

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