The US government has signed two new agreements with Lockheed Martin for the F-35 Lightning ll Joint Strike fighter that invoke a new contracting structure meant to drive down costs.The low-rate initial production (LRIP) contracts, valued at a total of USD7.8 billion, are fixed price, which puts the onus of cost overruns on prime contractor Lockheed Martin. The contracts also contain performance-based payments, which mean Lockheed Martin will receive incremental funding as the aircraft roll down the production line.
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