The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin should reach agreement “in the summer timeframe” on a price for Lot 8 low-rate initial production of F-35 strike fighters, said Lorraine Martin, the company’s F-35 program manager, on Monday. She also suggested the deal could be announced as soon as the Farnborough Air Show, which takes place July 14-20 outside of London. At the company’s June 9 media day in Arlington, Va., Martin said “we do expect each LRIP lot will cost less” than the one before it. Lots 6 and 7, which the parties negotiated last year, established prices four percent lower, respectively, than the preceding lots. Asked about prospects for a Farnborough announcement, Martin said, “I like to get things behind me … as quickly as possible.”
The Air Force is launching an effort to develop a new stand-off missile with a range of 1,000 nautical miles, or 1,150 miles, that would eventually be used for both air-to-air and air-to-surface missions.