Lockheed Martin Corporation’s LMT Aeronautics business segment recently clinched a modification contract to support the F-35 jet program. The award has been provided by the Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, MD.

Details of LMT’s Deal

Valued at $127 million, the contract is expected to be completed by March 2026. Per the terms of the deal, Lockheed will provide continued flight test support, which includes administrative, maintenance and test preparation for training systems labs, flight test labs and Autonomic Logistics Information System/Operational Data Integrated Network labs, to aid the testing of new capabilities for the F-35 jet’s air system.

The contract will serve the U.S. Navy, Air Force and non-U.S. Department of Defense cooperative program partners. A major portion of the work related to this deal will be executed in Fort Worth, TX; Palmdale, CA and Patuxent River, MD.

Importance of LMT’s F-35 Jets

The F-35 fighter jet's cutting-edge sensors and communication technologies enable it to operate smoothly across multiple fields, including air, land, sea, space and ground-based platforms.

These features must have been driving strong demand for F-35 jets, which can be further gauged from the fact that since its launch, Lockheed had delivered 1,102 units as of Dec. 31, 2024. The latest contract win is yet another example of LMT’s F-35 enjoying significant demand in the military aviation space.

LMT Stock’s Growth Potential

Rising military conflicts, terrorism and border disputes, along with rapid technological advancements in combat jets, have led nations to increase their defense spending on combat-proven jets, which constitute an integral part of their defense structure.

This is likely to have prompted the Mordor Intelligence firm to forecast a compound annual growth rate of 4.7% for the military aviation market during the 2025-2030 period.

Such strong market prospects drive growth opportunities for Lockheed, backed by its robust portfolio of combat jets, including F-21, F-2 Support Fighter, F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-22 Raptor, in addition to the F-35 jets.

Opportunities for LMT’s Peers

Other aerospace companies that are likely to benefit from the expanding global military aviation market are discussed below:

Northrop Grumman Corporation NOC: Northrop is a provider of manned and unmanned air systems. It builds some of the world’s most advanced aircraft like the E-2C Hawkeye 2000, A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-5 Tiger Fighter Jet and many more.

Northrop has a long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate of 4.2%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NOC’s 2025 sales indicates year-over-year growth of 3%.

Embraer ERJ: The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of the most advanced aircraft in the combat market, which includes the A-29 Super Tucano light attack and advanced trainer and the C-390 Millennium military multi-mission aircraft.

ERJ delivered an average earnings surprise of 138.39% in the last four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ERJ’s 2025 sales indicates year-over-year growth of 13.9%.

The Boeing Company BA: The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of the most advanced aircraft in the combat market, which includes F/A-18 Super Hornet, P-8, F-15EX, CH-47 Chinook, Chinook Block II, EA-18G Growler and a few more.

Boeing boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 17.4%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BA’s 2025 sales implies an improvement of 25.6% from the prior-year number.

LMT Stock Price Movement

In the past year, Lockheed shares have gained 7.1% against the industry’s 4.9% decline.

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LMT’s Zacks Rank

Lockheed currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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