Under the arrangement, the company will procure components and parts needed to complete 198 aircraft included in the 20th and 21st production batches. The work is scheduled to be finished by the end of 2030, and full funding was activated when the deal was signed.
According to the Department’s statement, most of the contracted work is financed by export customers, who account for 780 million USD. This includes buyers acquiring the aircraft through the FMS procedure, valued at 556 million USD, as well as partner nations participating in the industrial F-35 programme.
Lockheed Martin has so far delivered more than 1,270 F-35 Lightning II aircraft of various versions, which have accumulated over one million flight hours. Orders have been placed by 20 countries, and the manufacturer has begun deliveries to twelve of them.
The statement adds that the ceremonial presentation of the first F-35A Lightning II for Finland, the next customer, will take place in the coming weeks.
