Lockheed wins US defence contract

Lockheed Martin has won the biggest-ever defence contract to supply Joint Strike Fighters to the US Air Force.

The company was in competition with Boeing for the $200bn contract.

Rolls Royce, BAE, Cobham and Smiths will all benefit from the £140bn project.

The contract is for 3,000 supersonic jets with radar-evading capabilities to replace the aging fighter fleets of the Air Force, Navy and Marines, albeit with modifications to fit the needs of each branch.

The Defence Department gave Boeing and Lockheed $660m each in 1996 for research and development of prototypes that could take off quickly, land vertically and on carrier decks and throw off radar.

The companies waged a long and costly advertising and lobbying campaign for the contract, which establishes Lockheed as the nation's sole fighter jet manufacturer.

Lockheed had said that if it won it would add as many as 9,000 jobs at its Lockheed Martin Aeronautics division in Fort Worth, Texas, which currently employs 11,000.

Boeing had predicted it would have added 3,000 new jobs for its Seattle facility and another 3,000 engineering jobs and 2,000 production jobs at its St. Louis plant.

Analysts said Boeing may be in a better position to weather the loss.

It is developing an un-manned combat aircraft that could be highly lucrative and, unlike Lockheed, it has a commercial airline business.