US Navy Awards Lockheed Martin $23M for F-35 Depots in Finland, Switzerland, South Korea

The U.S. Naval Air Systems Command has awarded Lockheed Martin Corporation a cost-plus-fixed-fee order worth $23,082,803 to support Finland, Switzerland, and South Korea in establishing national maintenance depots for the F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter.

The contract covers engineering and technical services, depot activation support, and "material lay-in"—the process of stocking facilities with necessary parts and equipment before operations begin.

Work Distribution

The work is distributed across multiple locations:

• Fort Worth, Texas – 68% of the work (Lockheed Martin's home base)
• Cheongju, South Korea – 17%
• Emmen, Switzerland – 6%
• Halli, Finland – 6%
• Seoul and Helsinki – smaller portions

Completion is expected by December 2028.

Contract Details

The funding comes through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, meaning Finland, Switzerland, and South Korea are financing the effort, though the U.S. Navy manages the contract on their behalf. The order was placed against an existing basic ordering agreement and was not competitively bid; no other companies sought the award.

Finland

Finland's involvement stems from a 64-aircraft purchase, which will give the country the largest F-35 fleet in northern Europe once deliveries are complete. Lockheed Martin rolled out Finland's first F-35A in December 2025 at its Fort Worth plant. The aircraft is expected to arrive in Finland in 2026, following pilot and maintainer training at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Arkansas.

The depot at Halli is central to Finland's strategy of performing domestic maintenance rather than sending jets abroad—a critical capability for a NATO member sharing a long border with Russia.

Switzerland

Switzerland ordered 36 F-35As, though the government announced in December 2025 that it would reduce that planned purchase after cost overruns pushed the program more than $1 billion above its original 2022 price, according to FlightGlobal.

The depot at Emmen, the country's primary military aviation hub, would allow the Swiss Air Force to maintain its jets without relying entirely on facilities elsewhere in Europe or the United States, even as budget constraints shape the final fleet size.

South Korea

The Republic of Korea Air Force already operates the F-35A. Seoul took delivery of 40 jets starting in 2019, lost one to a bird strike, and has ordered 20 additional aircraft with deliveries beginning in 2027, according to the Korea Herald.

Previously, U.S. security restrictions limited South Korea to minor maintenance, forcing major repairs through a regional facility in Japan. The depot at Cheongju Air Base, first announced in 2024 by South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration, is intended to provide heavy maintenance capability by 2027. This Lockheed Martin contract funds initial induction material and activation services for that effort.