Pentagon eyes 3-year block buy of F-35s from fiscal 2018

WASHINGTON, May 29 (Reuters) - The Pentagon on Friday said it would talk to U.S. lawmakers about approving a possible three-year block buy of Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jets beginning in fiscal 2018 that would include U.S. purchases and international buyers.

U.S. Defense Undersecretary Frank Kendall told reporters such a deal would not constitute a formal "multiyear buy," but would still require congressional approval. He said such a deal would allow the U.S. military and international buyers to drive down costs by benefitting from economic order quantities when annual orders of the jet reach around 150 planes a year.

He said the F-35 program was meeting or exceeding performance, cost, schedule milestones set during a 2011 restructuring of the program. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)