The US defense department has awarded Lockheed Martin a $49 million contract for work on the development of a Joint Strike Fighter aircraft variant for an unidentified foreign customer.
The Pentagon announcement said the award provided funds for engineering and other related activities in support of the design and development of the fighter, but remained very light on details.
Lockheed Martin currently manufactures three variants of the Joint Strike Fighter, the conventional F-35A, and the aircraft carrier capable F-35C and F-35B short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) variants. The announcement did not say on which of the three variants the new design, that will be “tailored for an unspecified Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customer,” would be based.
The company is expected to complete the majority of the design work in Fort Worth, Texas, with other locations including California, Florida, and Samlesbury, United Kingdom.
According to the Pentagon, work is expected to be completed by December 2026.
