Pentagon Nears Deal With Lockheed For 375 F-35 Stealth Fighter Jets

The Pentagon is reportedly close to securing 375 F-35 stealth fighter jets from Lockheed Martin Corp., Reuters reported on Monday afternoon, citing three sources.

The sources said the 375 fifth-generation warplanes would be delivered over three years. Reuters wasn’t clear which variant of the F-35 (the conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) F-35A, the short takeoff and vertical-landing (STOVL) F-35B, and or the carrier-based (CV/CATOBAR) F-35C) was part of the deal. 

Recently, Lockheed said that rising inflation would boost the cost of all three F35 variants. In 2019, the Pentagon inked a deal with the defense contractor F-35As for around $78 million, F-35Bs for $101 million, and F-35Cs for $94 million. 

There’s no timeline on when negotiations between the government and Lockheed will formalize the contract and announce the massive deal worth approximately $30 billion.

So much for “world peace” as the US continues to modernize its fleet of fighter jets and strategically place them in key US allies, such as Germany, Japan, and South Korea, creating a ‘friends circle’ of fifth-generation fighters around Russia and China. 

PENTAGON AND LOCKHEED NEAR APPROX $30 BILLION DEAL FOR AROUND 375 F-35 FIGHTER JETS – SOURCES

Guess we won’t be getting “world peace” any time soon

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) July 18, 2022