The Defense Department on Tuesday awarded Lockheed Martin a contract worth more than $1 billion for maintenance for the F-35 program. The cost-plus-incentive-fee contract includes logistics support and sustainment for Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, and foreign military sales customers. The non-competitive contract covers ground maintenance, action request solution, depot activation, maintenance for the Automatic Logistics Information System, and related activities. Work will be complete in the US and the UK, according to the Pentagon announcement. Nearly half of the amount, about $507 million, will go to USAF F-35A work. The contract comes weeks after the Pentagon awarded an $8.2 billion Lot 10 production contract for 90 of the jets—the first time the USAF F-35A variant dropped under $100 a copy.
The last remaining T-1 Jayhawk at JBSA-Randolph, Texas, took its final flight to the "Boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., on July 15. The 99th Flying Training Squadron will train pilots using T-6 and simulator until it gets T-7 Red Hawk in fiscal 2026.