The Pentagon exercised a rarely used contracting mechanism when awarding the recent $6.1 billion deal to Lockheed Martin for the ninth lot of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, according to multiple sources familiar with the program. In August, the Pentagon approved $1 billion in additional funding to reimburse Lockheed Martin for costs incurred on the ninth batch of F-35 aircraft. The funds were awarded using an undefinitized contracting action. Under a UCA, "when a negotiation impasse for definitization has been reached,...
