Lockheed Martin Corporation received a mysterious order to modify the F-35 fighter
The American military-industrial corporation Lockheed Martin has received a mysterious order to work on a new modification of the fifth-generation fighter F-35 Lightning II, says The Drive.
The amount of the contract, which should be executed no later than December 2026, is more than $ 49 million. Its customer and the specific works that are supposed to be carried out by the agreement are not disclosed.
In the publication of the American edition, it is assumed that countries that recently decided to buy it might want their own modification of the fighter. In particular, such a country may be Finland, which is interested in a special refueling system for the aircraft. Israel and Singapore may also be interested in modifying the fighter.
The publication admits that the mysterious work may concern the new export version of the F-35 Lightning II with special security requirements. Such a variant of the US fighter can be offered by the UAE, which does not want to curtail cooperation with China.
In December, 19FortyFive wrote that a potential deal for Finland to acquire the F-35 Lightning II, which must be approved by Washington, "puts more fifth-generation fighters on Russia's doorstep, which will surely upset Moscow."
In the same month, the Finnish government officially announced its intention to buy 64 Block 4 F-35A Lightning II aircraft.