Hewson is due to speak at the Credit Suisse conference on Thursday.

Agreement on the terms would free up additional funding for early work on a sixth set of planes, which the company has been funding on its own for some time.

Lockheed warned investors last month that it faced a potential termination liability of $1.1 billion on that sixth batch of planes, unless it received additional funding by year end.

Lockheed received some initial “long-lead” funding for advanced procurement of materials for the planes, but that money ran out a while ago.

The Pentagon has refused to release any more money for the sixth batch of planes until the two sides resolve their differences and sign a contract for the fifth batch of planes after nearly a year of negotiations.