Washington DC, May 17 -- The United States has rolled out a nearly one-billion-dollar upgrade programme for its fifth-generation stealth fighter F-35 Lightning 2 fleet, primarily centred on electronic warfare modernisation and advanced combat capability enhancements across hundreds of aircraft operated by both the US military and other foreign operators of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).

According to a US Department of War (DoW) contract announcement, Lockheed Martin has been awarded USD 991.1 million to produce and deliver 432 modification kits for F-35 fighter jets.

The order includes 97 aircraft for the US Air Force, 54 for the US Marine Corps, 42 for the US Navy, 106 for Foreign Military Sales customers, and 133 for non-US partner n...