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Pentagon sees F-35 contract soon with Lockheed
http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/09/09/us-aero-summit-fighter-idINKBN0H428O20140909Pentagon sees F-35 contract soon with Lockheed
WASHINGTON Wed Sep 10, 2014 1:28am IST
(Reuters) - The U.S. Defense Department on Tuesday said it expects to wrap up contract talks in coming days or weeks with Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) about an eighth batch of F-35 fighter jets, and is also close to an agreement with engine maker Pratt & Whitney (UTX.N).
Rear Admiral Randy Mahr, deputy F-35 program manager, said the department had decided to negotiate the next two production contracts with Lockheed at the same time to secure better pricing given the higher order quantities. Those contracts would still be awarded to the company one year at a time given restrictions on multi-year contracts, he added.
Mahr said the overall F-35 program, the Pentagon's largest arms project, was doing "pretty well," but he continued to worry about the pace of retrofitting existing jets to fix problems discovered during flight testing.