Contract: Lockheed Martin, $489.5M

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $489,528,000 advance acquisition contract to provide long lead-time parts, material and components required for the delivery of 35 low rate initial production Lot VII F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft. It includes 19 conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) aircraft for the U.S. Air Force; three CTOLs for the government of Italy; 2 CTOLs for the government of Turkey; six short take-off vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft for the Marine Corps; one STOVL for the United Kingdom; and four carrier variant aircraft for the Navy. In addition, this contract provides long lead-time efforts required for the incorporation of a drag chute in CTOL air systems for the government of Norway. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, El Segundo, Calif., Warton, United Kingdom, Orlando, Fla., Nashua, N.H., and Baltimore, Md. Work is expected to be completed in June 2013. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 06/15/12) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 training center.