US DoD, Lockheed Martin finalise contract for nearly 300 F-35s

The F-35 production line at Fort Worth in Texas will be turning out Lot 18 jets from 2026, with Lot 19 to follow under a finalised production agreement announced on 29 September. (Lockheed Martin)

The US Department of Defense (DoD) and Lockheed Martin have finalised a production agreement covering nearly 300 F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft for domestic and international customers.

The deal on lots 18–19 of production covers 296 aircraft for the US military, international partners, and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers divided equally across both lots. Deliveries will begin in 2026.

With an agreement spanning lots 18–19 announced on 29 September, a USD12.5 billion contract for Lot 18 was announced by the DoD on the same day. Building on a December 2024 undefinitised contract, this award covers 148 aircraft comprising 40 F-35As for the US Air Force (USAF), 12 F-35Bs and eight F-35Cs for the US Marine Corps (USMC), nine F-35Cs for the US Navy (USN), 13 F-35A and two F-35B aircraft for undisclosed F-35 co-operative programme partners, and 52 F-35A and 12 F-35B aircraft for undisclosed FMS customers. A separate USD2.8 billion contract was awarded to Pratt & Whitney in August for 141 Lot 18 F-135 engines.

The Lot 19 value and numbers have not yet been provided.

Co-operative programme partners comprise Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, and Norway, while FMS customers are Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Greece, Japan, Poland, South Korea, Switzerland, and Romania. Separately, Israel and Singapore are involved as Security Cooperative Participants.

To date, more than 1,230 F-35s of all variants have been delivered to the wider programme, with more than 1 million hours flown.

For more information on the F-35 production programme, please see