Lockheed Martin on Monday received a $743 million modification to the low-rate initial production lot nine batch of F-35s, providing additional funding for “diminishing manufacturing and material shortages redesign and development,” the Pentagon announced. Under the contract, 27.9 percent or $207.4 million goes toward US Air Force aircraft. The contract also establishes not to exceed prices for one F-35A and one F-35B for a non-US country, in addition to funding for manufacturing, post production concurrency changes, and country unique requirements. The Pentagon in November 2015 awarded the LRIP nine contract, which covered 41 F-35As, 12 F-35Bs, and two F-35Cs. The work under this contracted is expected to be completed by December 2019.
The U.S. military is sending more fighter jets to the Middle East to step up its war with Iran, adding to what is already the largest buildup of airpower in the region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. For now, the operation shows little sign of coming to a quick…