Lockheed Martin signs framework for at least 850 F-35 jets over 10 years

The framework covers production, spares and a decade of sustainment, with contract terms still to be finalized

The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin have signed a framework agreement covering a minimum of 850 F-35 aircraft for the United States over the next 10 years, along with initial spares, a decade of modification kits and sustainment work, and additional international orders spanning production Lots 21 through 30, Lockheed Martin said in a release. The agreement keeps the production rate at 156 aircraft a year.

The framework is not yet a final contract. Lockheed Martin said pricing, schedules and terms will still need to be finalized once the F-35 Joint Program Office receives multiyear procurement authority and appropriations. The company said the arrangement is expected to save taxpayers billions of dollars over the aircraft's lifecycle through long-term pricing and volume discounts, though a source familiar with the talks told Breaking Defense last week that a multi-year aircraft buy may not deliver the same savings as multi-year munitions contracts have.

The scale marks a jump from recent F-35 orders. Lockheed Martin and the Pentagon finalized a deal in September 2025 worth roughly $24.3 billion for nearly 300 jets across Lots 18 and 19, with deliveries starting this year. Lockheed Martin delivered 191 F-35s in 2025, and long-lead contracts already in place for Lots 20 and 21 cover close to 200 more aircraft, according to Aviation A2Z. Breaking Defense reported 12 days before this agreement that the two sides were discussing a multi-year deal that could run up to a decade and be worth tens of billions of dollars.

The order locks in years of F-35 production volume well beyond the program's prior run-rate commitments, and it arrives alongside other defense manufacturing buildouts, including the Grand Prairie munitions expansion and the Avio USA rocket motor facility, that point to a broader push for sustained, diversified capacity rather than a single award. It also comes against the backdrop of a diverted F-35 parts episode that raised questions about supply-chain security for the same aircraft now being ordered at this scale, underscoring that the government is committing to the program despite that unresolved vulnerability. Even as subcontractor work such as BAE's electronic warfare contract gets distributed around the program, the size of this commitment keeps the F-35 line as the anchor of Lockheed Martin's future revenue.