
The Navy on Friday awarded Lockheed Martin [LMT] a $1.8 billion contract to continue design maturation and development of F-35 Block 4 capabilities. This award specifically is in support of the F-35 Phase 2.3 Pre-Modernization for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and non-Defense Department participants. Block 4 consists of modernization follow-on upgrade developments for the F-35, particularly software upgrades. According to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, the Block 4 upgrades are expected to cost $10.5 billion total…