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Lockheed wins US$8.2 bil F-35 contract after Trump intervenes

Bloomberg Published on Mon, Feb 06, 2017 / 7:57 AM GMT+8

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(Feb 4): The White House announced a contract for 90 F-35 jets from Lockheed Martin Corp. valued at as much as US$8.2 billion ($11.6 billion), boasting of savings after President Donald Trump chided that the Pentagon’s costliest programme was “out of control.”

Based on the per-plane cost, the savings will be US$728 million compared with the previous contract, according to a Pentagon statement. That exceeds the US$600 million in savings that Trump said he achieved after criticising the fighter’s cost and intervening with Lockheed Chief Executive Officer Marillyn Hewson.

“Another big win the president has delivered on for US taxpayers,” White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters at midday Friday. The announcement from the White House press room marked a striking change from the Pentagon’s usual practice of issuing major contracts in bureaucratic statements after the close of New York trading.