The largest US defense company Lockheed Martin concluded the contract for delivery of 90 F-35 jet fighters to US Department of Defense, Pentagon reports. The amount of a contract was USD 7.19 bln, the delivery will expectedly end in March 2020, RNS reports.
It is noted that 16 jets will be produced for foreign customers as a part of US military sales program.
Previously, in November, Bloomberg informed about arisen disputes between US military command authority and Lockheed Martin. According to Michael Ryan, the previously concluded contract for delivery of 57 F-35 jets, amounting to USD 6 billion, was not approved by the company. In addition, on October 25, Lockheed Martin’s CFO Bruce Tanner claimed about difference of opinions of the concern and Pentagon on the contract for F-35. In particular, the contractor was not satisfied with the amount of the expected profit, but Pentagon claimed that the concluded transaction is “true and valid” for the USA, international partners and the whole industry.
F-35 is the US developing fifth-generation jet fighter, the most expensive plane in the history: for Pentagon, the full development cycle cost is USD 1.3 trln adjusted for inflation, and the cost of one F-35 is USD 159 mln.
