Navy Awards Lockheed Martin $29.3 Million for F-35 Support Work

The U.S. Navy has awarded Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. a $29.3 million contract to provide technical and planning support tied to the F-35 Lightning II program for a Foreign Military Sales customer.

The contract is aimed at helping that customer define what it will need to operate and maintain the advanced fighter jet before moving deeper into the program.

Contract Focuses on Planning, Logistics, and Sustainment

Under the award, Lockheed Martin will provide project management, logistics, sustainment, and systems engineering support.

Those areas are critical for any country preparing to bring the F-35 into service because operating the aircraft requires more than simply receiving jets.

The customer will need maintenance planning, support systems, trained personnel, supply chains, technical processes, and long-term sustainment structures. This contract is designed to help define those requirements early.

Work Will Support F-35 Requirements Definition

A major part of the contract involves requirements definition and decomposition, along with related studies.

In simpler terms, the work will help break down what the FMS customer needs into specific technical, operational, and support requirements.

That process is important because the F-35 is a complex aircraft with demanding maintenance, software, logistics, and operational needs.

Before a customer can effectively operate the aircraft, it has to understand the full support ecosystem that comes with it.

Fort Worth Will Handle the Work

The work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, where Lockheed Martin Aeronautics is based and where the F-35 has a major production and program presence.

The Navy expects the contract work to be completed by October 2027, giving Lockheed Martin roughly a year and a half to deliver the required planning, engineering, and support work.

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Foreign Military Sales Funds Cover the Full Award

The contract will be funded entirely through Foreign Military Sales customer funds. The full amount, $29,329,364, will be obligated at the time of award.

The Navy also stated that none of the funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, meaning the money is available for the duration of the planned effort without an immediate expiration issue.

Contract Was Not Competed

The Navy said this contract action was not competed. That means Lockheed Martin received the award without a competitive bidding process for this specific action.

Given Lockheed Martin’s central role as the F-35 manufacturer, the non-competed nature of the award is not unexpected for certain program-specific support work, especially when the services required are closely tied to proprietary aircraft systems, program knowledge, and sustainment planning.

Naval Air Systems Command Is Managing the Award

The contracting activity for the award is Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, Maryland.

NAVAIR is responsible for managing many aviation-related acquisition and support programs for the Navy and Marine Corps, including work connected to the F-35.

Impact and Consequences

This contract helps move an unnamed FMS customer closer to operating and maintaining the F-35 by laying the groundwork for requirements, sustainment, and logistics planning.

For the customer, that could reduce uncertainty before aircraft operations begin and help avoid costly mistakes later.

For Lockheed Martin, the award reinforces its continuing role not only as the builder of the F-35, but also as a key provider of the support architecture surrounding the aircraft.

The F-35 program depends heavily on sustainment, systems engineering, and long-term maintenance planning, and contracts like this keep Lockheed deeply involved throughout the aircraft’s lifecycle.

For the Navy and broader F-35 enterprise, the contract supports international adoption of the aircraft and strengthens the framework needed for foreign partners to operate the platform effectively.

What’s next?

Lockheed Martin will now begin or continue the planning and technical support work in Fort Worth. The focus will be on helping the FMS customer define requirements, analyze sustainment needs, and prepare for future F-35 operations.

As the work progresses toward the October 2027 completion date, the customer will likely use the results to shape training, logistics, maintenance, infrastructure, and operational planning for the aircraft.

Summary

The Navy has awarded Lockheed Martin Aeronautics a $29.3 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to support an F-35 Foreign Military Sales customer.

The work includes project management, logistics, sustainment, and systems engineering support to help define requirements and prepare the customer to operate and maintain the F-35 Lightning II.

The work will take place in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in October 2027.

Bulleted Takeaways:

• The Navy awarded Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. a $29,329,364 contract.
• The work supports an F-35 Foreign Military Sales customer.
• The contract covers project management, logistics, sustainment, and systems engineering support.
• It will help define requirements for operating and maintaining the F-35 Lightning II.
• Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas.
• The expected completion date is October 2027.
• The full contract amount will be funded by FMS customer funds.
• None of the obligated funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
• The contract action was not competed.
• Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.