General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), has awarded Terma A/S, Denmark, a $15.9 million contract for the delivery of 16 low-rate initial production (LRIP) gun pods to be utilized on the short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) and carrier version (CV) variants of the F-35 Lightning II aircraft.

In 2004, Terma was awarded an $8.5 million contract to develop and deliver the first three gun pods to be used for system qualification and testing.

The gun pod has successfully passed qualification testing, including firing and fit-check tests, on the F-35 Lightning II aircraft, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter.

Prior to the LRIP contract award, several initiatives were successfully conducted that significantly reduced the gun pod system weight and lowered cost to ensure that long-term program affordability is achieved.

During the entire F-35 production phase, Terma is expected to deliver approximately 400 gun pods.

Parts and systems for the F-35 are built around the world. Companies in all eight international partner countries (United Kingdom, Italy, The Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Australia, Norway and Denmark) are participating in the program.