The U.S. Navy on Thursday awarded two contracts for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter with a combined value of more than $2 billion. The Pratt & Whitney division of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) was awarded $1.5 billion to supply 57 engines for the plane and components, parts and materials for another 42 engines. Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) was awarded a contract worth about $560 million to supply spare parts and other components for the 57 planes included in the award to UTC.
The Pratt & Whitney contract calls for engines for 44 F-35As for the U.S. Air Force, four for the Navy and nine for the Marine Corps. The 13 planes for the Navy and Marine Corps are the short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) variation.
In its announcement of the award, Pratt & Whitney noted that the cost of the standard engines has dropped by half and the cost of the STOVL engines has dropped by more than a third since 2009. Lt. General Chris Bogdan, the program executive officer, said, “Now that we are ramping up production with increased volume from Pratt & Whitney and from their global supply chain, the program is really gaining momentum.”
At the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) in Britain on Thursday, the head of the U.S. Air Combat Command said there is nothing standing in the way of the Defense Department approving the F-35A’s initial operating capability as currently scheduled between August and the end of this year.
The F-35A and F-35B are scheduled to make flying demonstrations at RIAT next week.
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