Lockheed Martin Targets 80% Of 6th Gen Capabilities In F-35 At Half The Cost After Losing NGAD Contract To Boeing

Lockheed Martin Corp. LMT CEO Jim Taiclet outlined an ambitious plan to enhance the F-35 fighter jet following the company’s loss of the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program contract to Boeing Co. BA.

What Happened: During Lockheed’s first quarter of 2025 earnings call on Tuesday, Taiclet said he has challenged his team to deliver “80% of 6th Gen capability at 50% of the cost” by applying technologies developed for its NGAD bid to the existing F-35 platform.

“We are moving forward and moving out on applying all the technologies that we developed for our NGAD bid onto our embedded base of F-35 and F-22,” Taiclet said, describing his vision as a “5th generation plus concept” for the F-35.

The aerospace giant reported strong first-quarter results with earnings per share of $7.28, beating analyst estimates by $0.97, and revenue of $17.96 billion, up 4.47% year-over-year.

Lockheed maintained its full-year guidance despite tariff challenges and the NGAD decision, projecting $73.75-74.75 billion in revenue and $27.00-27.30 in earnings per share. The company returned $1.5 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases during the quarter.

Why It Matters: The March F-47 contract award to Boeing represented a significant setback for Lockheed, with Reuters reporting the deal could be worth hundreds of billions of dollars over its multi-decade lifetime. This followed Lockheed’s elimination from consideration for the Navy’s next-generation carrier-based stealth fighter.

Despite these challenges, Taiclet emphasized the F-35’s continued importance. With approximately 1,100 aircraft already delivered and a projected global fleet exceeding 3,500, he positioned the F-35 as the “quarterback” in future air combat operations.

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“We think we can get most of the way to 6th Gen at half the cost,” Taiclet said.

The company also highlighted recent contract wins worth up to $10 billion for missile systems, including Precision Strike Missiles, THAAD, and JASSM/LRASM.

Price Action: Lockheed Martin stock closed at $462.08 on Tuesday, up 0.82% for the day. In pre-market trading, the stock was up an additional 0.85% at $466.00. Year to date, however, the stock is down 4.18%.

LMT trails key U.S. rivals—Northrop Grumman NOC, Raytheon Technologies RTX, General Dynamics GD, and Boeing on the momentum metric, with the stock showing a negative price trend over the medium to long term. However, according to Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings, LMT still exhibits a positive short-term price trend. Sign up to learn more.