WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy this week awarded Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney more than $1 billion in contracts to buy parts and equipment for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
On Monday, the Pentagon announced Lockheed received a $347 million firm fixed-price modification to a previously awarded contract to procure F-35 helmet-mounted display systems for the Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force.
And on Tuesday, the Navy awarded Lockheed another modification to a previously awarded contract, worth up to $607 million, to buy long-lead time materials, parts and components to build 173 F-35s for Foreign Military Sales customers and non-U.S. Defense Department participants.
The Pentagon on Monday also announced Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of RTX — formerly known as Raytheon Technologies — had received a contract modification valued at more than $59 million to procure advanced long-lead time hardware for the F-35′s F135 engines. This contract will support all U.S. armed services flying the F-35, as well as FMS customers and non-U.S. Defense Department participants.
The Pentagon’s announcement on the helmet contract said Lockheed will carry out the work in Fort Worth, Texas, where the firm runs its main F-35 factory, and is expected to be done by December 2026.
Most of Lockheed’s work on the long-lead items for the F-35, or 59%, will also take place in Fort Worth, the Pentagon said. Other work will take place in El Segundo, California; Warton, England; Cameri, Italy; and other locations. Work on these long-lead items is expected to conclude in January 2028.
Pratt & Whitney will conduct its work on the F135 engine parts in East Hartford, Connecticut; Indianapolis, Indiana; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and other locations. More than a quarter of the work will take place at various locations outside the continental United States.
Lockheed’s long-lead item contract includes nearly $330 million from FMS customer funds, and more than $277 million in non-U.S. Defense Department participant funds.
Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting authority for all three deals.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
