United Technologies Corp

The Pentagon may halt manufacturing support for the F-35 fighter jet in Turkey if Ankara insists on purchasing the Russian S-400 missile defense system, US Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said on Friday, according to Agence France-Presse. 

Lockheed Martin Corp and the Pentagon missed their end-of-March target for reaching agreement on $15 billion in new F-35 fighter jets, but should complete work on the contracts in April, according to sources familiar with the matter.

"We're closer now than we were at the beginning of the month," said one of the sources, who was not authorized to speak publicly.

Lockheed Martin Corp met its goal of delivering 45 F-35 fighter jets to the U.S. government and key allies in 2015, a 25 percent increase from 2014 that brought the number of jets delivered to 154, the Pentagon said on Dec. 21.

Lockheed Martin Corp said on July 20 it would buy Sikorsky Aircraft, the helicopter unit of United Technologies Corp, for $9 billion, and would review the possible sale or spinoff of $6 billion in other information technology and services businesses.

Lockheed Martin Corp and Textron Inc have emerged as final contenders to buy United Technologies Corp?s Sikorsky Aircraft business, which could be valued at around $8 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

UTC is weighing offers from the two companies and may come to a decision by the end of the month, one of the people said.

Airbus is "watching with interest" to see whether United Technologies Corp (UTC) puts its Sikorsky helicopter business up for sale, the head of Airbus' US division said on June 8.

UTC expects to make a decision on whether the conglomerate will divest Sikorsky in a couple of months.

The U.S. Air Force on June 23 temporarily halted flights at a Florida air base of 26 F-35A fighter jets built by Lockheed Martin Corp after a jet caught fire as it was preparing to take off for a training flight, a Pentagon spokesman said.