Lockheed Martin on Monday received an approximately $373 million modification to the previous F-35 low-rate initial production contract to cover deficiencies for non-US operators. The contract modification, awarded by the US Navy, does not specify the deficiencies, and says work is expected to be finished by March 2020. The modification comes after Lockheed was awarded $7.2 billion for the LRIP Lot 10 in November, an award that covered 90 aircraft.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
