F-35B - reddit.com
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin
Corp (LMT.N) said on Thursday it has reached
its 2018 target to deliver 91 F-35 fighter jets to the United States and its
allies, as the defense contractor built 38 percent more jets this year.
The F-35
accounts for about a quarter of Lockheed’s total revenue. During the third
quarter, F-35 production volume and payments for maintenance increased in the
quarter.
The cost of the
most common variation of the jet, the F-35A, is now $89.2 million after the
most recent round of contract negotiations announced in September.
Lockheed
Martin said that in 2019 it aims to deliver more than 130 F-35s representing a
40 percent increase in production over 2018. The Bethesda, Maryland-based
weapons maker is aiming for annual production to more than 160 jets in 2023.
In November,
Lockheed received $6 billion in funding toward a multiyear commitment on a
batch of 255 jets from the United States and its allies.
This year, more
international customers have signed on to buy the jet. In October, Belgium said
it chose the F-35 over the Eurofighter Typhoon to replace its aging F-16s in a
4 billion euro ($4.55 billion) deal.
Other
U.S. allies have been eyeing a purchase of the stealthy jet. Potential new
customers include Finland, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, the United Arab
Emirates.
Despite the
consistent growth, the F-35 has been widely criticized for being too expensive,
including by U.S. President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials, who have
also pointed to numerous production delays and cost overruns.
Earlier this
year, all Lockheed Martin’s U.S. and international F-35 fighter jets were
grounded for engine inspections following a crash of an F-35B on Sept. 28 near
Beaufort, South Carolina.
Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington;
Editing by Alistair Bell and Grant McCool
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