Lockheed Martin received a U.S contract worth $490 million to start buying parts, material and components for a seventh batch of 35 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter planes, the Pentagon announced late June 15.

In another contract award, Lockheed, the Pentagon’s largest supplier, won a contract worth up to $1.91 billion to manage the U.S. military’s Global Information Grid networks on a day-to-day basis, the U.S. Defense Department also said. It said the contract would run for three years and included two two-year options, which if picked up would make the total price $1.91 billion.

The contract includes a mix of firm-fixed-price, fixed-price with incentive, cost-plus-incentive-fee, and cost-plus and fixed-fee pricing plans, according to the Pentagon’s announcement in its daily digest of big weapons deals.

Regarding the JSF award, Lockheed welcomed the agreement and said it would help ensure that the $396 billion F-35 program, which has been restructured three times in recent years, continued to meet its production schedules.

“This is an important milestone in paving the way for the acquisition of these aircraft,” said Lockheed spokeswoman Laurie Quincy.

News of the order came as Lockheed continued to hire temporary workers to maintain F-35 production at its plant in Fort Worth, Texas, where 3,300 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers have been on strike for eight weeks over pension and health care benefits.

The U.S. Defense Department said the order would include 19 conventional takeoff and landing or “A” models for the U.S. Air Force; three F-35A models for the government of Italy; two F-35As for Turkey; six short-takeoff, vertical-landing or F-35B aircraft for the U.S. Marine Corps; one F-35B for Britain, and four carrier variant aircraft for the Navy.

In addition, this contract provides long lead-time efforts required for the incorporation of a drag chute in conventional takeoff air systems for the government of Norway.

Lockheed remains locked in difficult negotiations with the Pentagon to finalize the details of a fifth order of 32 low-rate production planes.