The final price for the two lots, covering 296 aircraft, is $24.29 billion, with the average cost per airframe across all variants and customers calculated at $82.4 million. The JPO has not broken down unit costs by variant, though the Air Force F-35A is typically less expensive than the F-35B and F-35C models for the Marine Corps and Navy.
The deal does not include the F-35’s F135 engines, which are contracted separately with RTX’s Pratt & Whitney and supplied as government-furnished equipment. A JPO spokesman confirmed the engine contract will be announced at a later date.
A Lockheed Martin spokesperson said the “increase in price per jet in Lot 18-19 from previous years was less than the rate of inflation.” The contract type is described as “fixed-price incentive (firm-target), firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee.”
The first aircraft under Lots 18 and 19 are scheduled for delivery in 2026. Lot 20 is expected to be negotiated as part of a multiyear contract now that the F-35 programme is considered in “full rate production.”
The contract comes ten months after a handshake agreement was announced, with final negotiations extended until the end of the fiscal year on 30 September. A JPO spokesman said “unit recurring flyaway costs increased; however, [the] total settlement price is beneath relevant inflation indices increases.”
The spokesman added that “the cost per aircraft varies as a function of quantity, variant mix, and economic forces.” He also noted the global economy “has experienced significant inflationary pressures since the Lot 15-17 contract was signed. Nevertheless, the F-35 Joint Program Office and Lockheed Martin arrived at a cost per air vehicle below the relevant inflation indices, underscoring the F-35 enterprise’s commitment to control costs. Adjusted for inflation, the cost per air vehicle is consistent with the cost of those in Lot 15-17.”
The contract covers aircraft for the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy, as well as international partners and foreign military sales customers. In Lot 19, allocations include 40 F-35As for the Air Force, 12 F-35Bs and eight F-35Cs for the Marine Corps, nine F-35Cs for the Navy, 13 F-35As and two F-35Bs for partners, and 52 F-35As with 12 F-35Bs for foreign sales customers.
Chancey McIntosh, Lockheed’s vice president and general manager of the F-35, said the Lot 18-19 contract “represents continued confidence in the most affordable and capable fighter aircraft in production today.” Lockheed added that more than 1,230 F-35s are currently in service with 12 nations and have accumulated over one million flight hours.
