Pentagon awards $7.8 billion F-35 contract modification to Lockheed Martin

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Defense Department said on Friday it had awarded a $7.8 billion contract modification for F-35 aircraft to Lockheed Martin Corp.

“This modification adds scope to procure 127 F-35 Lot 16 aircraft,” the Pentagon said in a statement.

The additional contract announced Friday takes the total deal between the company and the Pentagon for delivering 398 F-35s to $30 billion, the company said.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Tim Ahmann)