Lockheed Martin and Pentagon officials are back to negotiating a traditional F-35 sustainment contract after the company failed to convince its largest customer to move to a five-year performance-based logistics deal. The proposed firm-fixed-price deal would have had Lockheed assume management of the jet’s supply chain, but defense officials were not convinced it would save money or increase readiness. The Department is negotiating the next annualized sustainment contract with yearly options between 2025-2028.
Program officials are exploring whether performance-based logistics might make sense for some F-35 sustainment work instead of all, according to Pentagon acquisition chief Bill LaPlante. The Pentagon may have backed away from the deal over concerns about the PBL model and the ability of the contractor to handle high op-tempo flying, as well as a desire to diversify supplier support. The proposal originally received from Lockheed did not save enough money or guarantee enough readiness, as required by the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act.
The JPO and Lockheed struck a six-month deal earlier this year to keep sustainment going and are now negotiating the next annual contract. Lockheed remains committed to partnering with the Joint Program Office on sustainment support for the F-35 program.
