Pratt & Whitney said this morning that it has finalized a deal with the U.S. Department of Defense to provide engines for a sixth batch of F-35 fighter jets.
Though Pratt has yet to state the value of the deal, an anonymously sourced Reuters story that preceded the announcement pegged it at $1 billion or more, similar to contracts for previous batches.
Pratt said today that the unit prices for the 32 common configuration engines and six short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing engines have fallen 2.5 percent and 9.6 percent, respectively, compared to the fifth batch.
“This agreement represents a fair deal for government and Pratt & Whitney,” Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, executive officer of the F-35 program, said in a statement. “Driving down cost is critical to the success of this program and we are working together — in each successive contract — to lower costs for the propulsion system.”
Delivery of the engines will start in the fourth quarter. The jets are made by Lockheed Martin.
