Lockheed Martin [LMT] is close to a new deal with the Defense Department on a new batch of F-35s, according to a company statement.
The statement said Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson told President-elect Donald Trump during a meeting in New York Jan. 13 that the new deal would reduce the price for the next 90 aircraft “significantly.” Lockheed Martin declined to further comment Jan. 13.
Lockheed Martin was already planning to reduce the unit cost of the aircraft as it ramped up production. Lockheed Martin announced in July that it, along with DoD, developed two initiatives to reduce F-35 production and sustainment costs. The first was a two-year extension of the “blueprint for affordability for production” program announced in 2014 while the second was the creation of a similar concept to reduce the operation and sustainment costs of the aircraft.