Lockheed Martin Awarded $7.8 Bln. Contracts For Supply Of 71 More F-35 Aircrafts

(RTTNews) - The U.S. Department of Defense Friday awarded Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) two contracts valued at $7.8 billion for the supply of 71 additional F-35 fighter aircrafts.

In a statement, the Department of Defense said it inked a contract valued $4.4 billion for a sixth batch of 36 F-35 aircrafts. The other contract of $3.4 billion was for the supply of 35 aircrafts in a seventh batch.

The Department of Defense cited reduction in the cost of aircraft as the reason for today's contracts. It said the cost of an aircraft unit in the sixth contract is 2.5 percent lower than prices, excluding engine, in the fifth contract. Costs of aircraft in the seventh contract is 6 percent lower than the fifth.

The provisions in today's contracts states that Lockheed Martin will need to bear all cost overruns.

Shares of Lockheed Martin closed Friday at $129.24, down $0.61 or 0.47%, on a volume of 1.3 million shares on the NYSE.