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AAs promised, the price of an F-35 joint strike fighter continues to decline as production rates increase.
The aircraft's manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, announced Friday that its latest $ 11.5 billion contract provides for the delivery of 141 F-35s at the lowest price per plane so far.
The contract sets the price of the F-35A, the standard model used by the Air Force, at $ 89.2 million, a reduction of 5.4% from $ 94.3 million for a model A of the last production batch.
This will be the 11th consecutive year that the cost of an F-35A has been reduced, said Lockheed Martin.
Other models have also experienced price declines. The F-35B, the vertical takeoff and landing variant used by the Marine Corps, will cost $ 115.5 million, down from $ 122.4 million, a 5.7% reduction.
This model was used for the first time in combat in Afghanistan on Thursday when it led an attack against a Taliban target in support of US troops on the ground.
And the F-35C, designed to take off and land on an aircraft carrier, costs $ 107.7 million per copy, compared to $ 121.2 million, a reduction of 11.1 percent.
Of the 141 aircraft of the so-called "low-flow initial production batch 11", 91 will go to the US military, 28 to international partners and 22 to foreign military sales customers. Delivery is scheduled for 2019.
"Cost reduction is critical to the success of this program," said Vice Admiral Mat Winter, F-35 Program Director, in a statement.
"We respect our commitment to get the best price for taxpayers and fighters. This agreement for the next batch of F-35 represents a fair deal for the US government, our international partnership and our industry. We remain focused on aggressively reducing the costs of the F-35 and creating the best value.
With a total cost of $ 406 billion for research, development and production, the F-35 joint strike fighter program is the most expensive in the Pentagon's history.
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