Lockheed Martin officials said Friday at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando that the first two production F-35A strike fighters slated for delivery to the training wing at Eglin AFB, Fla., later this year, are in final assembly at the company’s Fort Worth, Tex., facility. Per a company release, Steve O’Bryan, Lockheed’s VP of F-35 Business Development and Customer Engagement, said, “The F-35 provides best value in a package that not only deters hostilities but enhances interoperability.” According to a Government Executive report, Pentagon acquisition chief Ash Carter last week was upbeat about Lockheed’s assistance with the F-35 restructuring plan.
A legislative standoff has led to a lapse in a $4.26 billion small business innovation contracting program widely used by the Air Force and could spell the end of it entirely, industry sources warned Air & Space Forces Magazine.
