Lockheed awarded LRIP 9 contract: $6.1 billion for 57 F-35s

Lockheed Martin will deliver 57 F-35 airframes for $6.1 billion in the ninth lot of low-rate initial production under the terms of a contract signed only after a 15-month negotiating process that failed to achieve a second deal the next lot of aircraft.

www.flightglobal.com...

Lockheed is building 45 F-35As, 13 F-35Bs and 2 F-35Cs in LRIP 9.

The price per bird is now down to $107M (average).

The price does not include the engines: P&W has a separate contract for $1.4 billion for 66 engines (~$21M each).

To put into perspective, the F-35 now has 262 paid for. Even before LRIP 9, we had paid for more F-35s than F-22s.

It will be interesting to see what finally comes out of LRIP 10.

I really dont understand why they cost that much.. its just aluminum, glass, steel, and silicon.

I understand all the R&D... but even so.. when you pay for a Ferrari youre paying for top end engines and features... but mostly youre paying for the name.. and they ckst 500k-1million

When youre buying fighter jets you dont have to worry about social status.. so name means nothing..

Not to mention youre buying them in bulk.

The production cost has to be waaay lower than that.


This is why I dont understand why our government doesnt do R&D and do their own manufacturing you know? Instead of contracting it all out.

a reply to: Lucidparadox

It's far more than that. You're paying for software development for the most complex software system ever developed, stealth coatings and technologies that are far ahead of almost everything else flying anywhere in the world.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Oooh! Oooh! Ooh!

It was a unilateral contract! The gov got fed up with Lockheed's negotiating and just presented the contract.

This may become a lawsuit.

breakingdefense.com...

No more overtime penalty rates then?