Mary-Louise Hoffman
The U.S. Navy looks to award Lockheed Martin an initial contract for the Block 4 configuration of the F-35 fighter aircraft in the fourth quarter of the government’s 2018 fiscal year.
The service branch said in Dec. 13 in a FedBizOpps notice that the F-35 Lightning II Program Office will solicit proposals for “multiple contract actions” from Lockheed’s aerospace business for incremental follow-on aircraft upgrade services.
Work will include assessments and evaluations to determine if the F-35 air system can meet future operational requirements; systems engineering and design; procurement and support for prototype construction; hardware and test asset updates; air system deficiency correction; comprehensive system test and evaluation; and technical, financial and administrative data acquisition.
The Navy noted it determined that Lockheed is the only contractor that has the experience, technical documentation and expertise, software and algorithms to fulfill the requirements.
Lockheed’s aeronautics business solely designs, builds and integrates the F-35 and related aircraft equipment for military customers, according to the notice.
