Naval Air Systems Command awarded Lockheed Martin [LMT] a not-to-exceed $1.8 billion undefinitized contract action (UCA) on June 30 to procure recurring logistics services for delivered F-35 Joint Strike Fighters. 

The Defense of Department announcement said these services cover delivered F-35s in support of the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy as well as non-U.S. DoD participants and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers.

The department said services will include “ground maintenance activities, action request resolution, depot activation activities, automatic logistics information system operations and maintenance, reliability, maintainability and health management implementation and support, supply chain management and activities to provide and support pilot and maintainer initial training.”

Work will largely occur in Fort Worth, Texas (61 percent); Orlando, Florida (24 percent); and Greenville, S.C. (8 percent) and is expected to be finished in December 2021.  

Lockheed Martin told Defense Daily this is a follow-on contract for an earlier $1.3 billion UCA awarded to the company last December in support of operations and sustainment (Defense Daily, Jan. 8).

That award covered the same kind of activities for the same set of F-35 customers. 

Bill Brotherton, Lockheed Martin Acting Vice President and General Manager of the F-35 program, said at the time that “this contract ensures F-35s remain ready to fly and accomplish the warfighter’s mission. We continue to see improvements in readiness and cost, and as the fleet grows, so does the opportunity for the joint government and industry team to collaborate, realizing even more long-term benefits.”

The company said the earlier UCA covers “critical sustainment activities” while negotiations continued for a long-term contract to build enterprise capacity and affordability to support the expected total global force of over 3,000 F-35s.

Lockheed Martin notes its industry partners BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman [NOC] provide sustainment support for over 600 aircraft in areas including training, base operations, repairs, global supply, and sustainment support.

In this latest award, funds were obligated at the time of award and split into $91 million in the FY ‘21 Air Force operation and maintenance (O&M) account, $40 million in the FY ‘21 Air National Guard O&M account, $57 million in the FY ‘21 Marine Corps O&M account; $27 million in the FY ‘21 Navy O&M account, $77 million in non-DoD participant funds; and $41 million in FMS funds. $216 million of this funding will expire at the end of this fiscal year.