The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin have reached a “handshake agreement” that will bring the price of a basic model F-35 joint strike fighter below $80 million a plane, the lowest price tag in the long history of the most expensive weapons program ever.
“This is a historic milestone for the F-35 Enterprise, and marks the largest procurement in the history of the Department,” said Ellen Lord, the Pentagon’s under secretary for acquisition and sustainment.
The $34 billion agreement covers orders for 157 F-35s in lot 12 of the aircraft production, along with options for a total of 478 planes including lots 13 and 14.
“I am proud to state that this agreement has achieved an estimated 8.8 percent savings from Lot 11 to Lot 12 F-35As,” Lord said in a statement. “This framework estimates the delivery of an F-35A for less than $80 million in Lot 13, one year earlier than planned.”
The $80 million price point makes the newest F-35s, a fifth-generation fighter jet, cheaper than the older fourth generation planes, such as Boeing’s F-15X and Lockheed Martin’s upgraded F-16.
“The F-35 enterprise has successfully reduced procurement costs of the fifth Generation F-35 to equal or less than fourth generation legacy aircraft,” said Greg Ulmer, Lockheed Martin vice president and general manager for the F-35 program. “The handshake agreement, once finalized, will represent the largest F-35 production contract and the lowest aircraft prices in program history.”
