
The U.S. Air Force is negotiating a three-year sustainment contract with Lockheed Martin [LMT] for its F-35A Lightning II fighter--a contract that is to have performance incentives for cost reduction, Air Force Lt. Gen. Duke Richardson, the service's top military acquisition official, told a Senate hearing on June 22. Among the sustainment cost problems for the F-35 have been a shortage of working Pratt & Whitney [RTX] F135 engines for the fifth-generation fighter and lower than needed depot capacity (Defense…