A US Naval Air Systems Command contract was awarded to Lockheed Martin on December 30 finalising a $30bn deal for the production and delivery of up to 398 F-35s for US and Foreign Military Sales customers under Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) Lots 15-17. This newly signed agreement will see Lockheed Martin produce 145 F-35s under LRIP Lot 15 and 127 aircraft in LRIP Lot 16. The latter will comprise 89 F-35A aircraft, 23 F-35B aircraft, and 15 F-35C. The deal comes with an option to produce and deliver a further 126 F-35s under LRIP Lot 17 and will include the first examples of the fifth-generation multi-role stealth fighter for Belgium, Finland and Poland. On November 14, 2022, the Belgian Ministry of Defence revealed that production of its first F-35A had started at Lockheed Martin's facility in Fort Worth, Texas. More specific details of the breakdown of the numbers of aircraft for specific US and foreign military operators were not revealed.
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