The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence, through the U.S. Defense Department’s F-35 Joint Program Office, awarded Lockheed Martin [LMT] a $102 million three-year contract to deliver initial training, engineering, maintenance, and logistics support for the United Kingdom’s F-35 fleet, the company said Friday.
The award was announced by U.K. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon during a press conference with U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis during the latter’s first visit to the U.K. in his new position.
As part of this project, Lockheed Martin has sub-contracted $50 million worth of work to Britain’s BAE Systems and the two companies will create a team of 100 technicians at Royal Air Force base (RAF) Marham in Norfolk, U.K. There they will deliver engineering and technical expertise, provide air-crew and ground-crew training, facilitate routine maintenance, and help to manage the F-35’s global supply chain.
BAE will have the lead sustainment role for the F-35 in the U.K. while Lockheed Martin continues as the prime contractor for global operations, Lockheed Martin said.
“The additional investment at RAF Marham will ensure that we have a formidable fighting force that, at a time of growing danger, in the most momentous of weeks, will help us work with our US partners to promote international peace and security,” Fallon said at the press conference.
Lockheed Martin highlighted work is currently underway to prepare RAF Marham for the arrival of the 617 Squadron, which will fly the U.K.’s initial operational F-35 jets starting in 2018.
“We at Lockheed Martin are honored and excited to bring our knowledge and expertise to bear and to our ongoing role in supporting the world’ s most advanced fighter when the F-35 arrives at RAF Marham next year,” Peter Ruddock, chief executive of Lockheed Martin UK, said in a statement.
Andrea Thompson, F-35 Lightning II Senior vice president at BAE Systems, echoed the sentiment and said this builds on the company’s support of the U.K.’s earlier fighters at the air base.
“We are working hard to prepare for the arrival of F-35 and this contract is the next step towards that reality. This contract builds upon our pedigree in delivering maintenance and support to the U.K.’s fast jet fleets at bases across the country, including at RAF Marham where we have been supporting the operation of the Tornado GR4 fleet for the last decade,” she said in a statement.