THE PRICE IS RIGHT? Pentagon Nears New F-35 Deal.

Ellen Lord, the Pentagon’s chief weapons buyer, announced the preliminary deal in a statement on the eve of the biennial Farnborough Air Show, though last week she canceled plans to attend the U.K. event, citing other commitments.

The F-35 is the world’s largest military program and already accounts for about a quarter of Lockheed’s annual sales, as well as significant shares at partners including Northrop Grumman Corp. , BAE Systems PLC and United Technologies Corp. , the latter of which finalized a deal on the engines for the new jets earlier this year.

Pentagon officials have grown frustrated with efforts over the past three years to cut the cost of buying and flying as many as 2,400 of the radar-evading jets. The F-35 fleet would replace most U.S. jet fighters over the next 30 years at a cost of more than $400 billion. U.S. allies plan to buy up to 500 more jets.

Ms. Lord didn’t provide a contract value. Lockheed and its partners have already cut the average price of the F-35A model used by the U.S. Air Force to around $95 million, from $122 million five years ago.

They aim to reduce the price to roughly $80 million by the end of the decade. But Pentagon leaders want bigger cuts as annual production climbs toward 150 jets in the early 2020s, from 66 last year.

$80 million a copy isn’t all that much more than a less-capable and less-survivable Block 52 or Block 60 F-16.