Pentagon awards Lockheed contract for F-35 spares, support

June 18 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin has received a contract modification from the Defense Department for spares and additional services in support of the F-35 Lightning II, a fifth-generation fighter aircraft.

The award, announced Friday by the Pentagon, is worth more than $503.2 million and enables the delivery of "air vehicle initial spares, to include F-35 Lightning II deployment spares packages," as well as afloat spares packages and other consumables to meet air vehicle delivery schedules.

The U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps and non-Defense Department participants will benefit from the modified contract that amends a previous Pentagon award under the terms of a firm-fixed-price delivery order, the Department of Defense said.

Work on the contract will occur in various locations across the United States, in addition to locations in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Georgia, and is expected to be complete by December 2023.

The total cumulative value of the contract will be obligated to Lockheed Martin at time of award. The funds will be allocated from combined armed service fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement and non-Pentagon participant funds, according to the Defense Department.

The obligated funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.