Vertex Aerospace Wins $31.8 Million Navy Deal for F-5 Jet Upkeep

The Madison, Mississippi, aerospace firm secured a $31.8 million contract modification to fund labor cost adjustments for F-5 aircraft maintenance across five Navy bases through November 2028.

First Published: August 5, 2026, 1:24 PM ET

MADISON, MISSISSIPPI — Vertex Aerospace LLC, a Madison, Mississippi, defense services firm founded in 1992, won a $31.8 million contract modification to keep the Navy’s F-5 fighter fleet flying, as announced on war.gov.

The award, listed as modification P00012 to an earlier indefinite-delivery contract, funds collective bargaining agreement labor cost adjustments for maintenance and logistics support, the Navy said in a contract announcement. The company will perform work in Key West, Florida; Yuma, Arizona; New Orleans; Beaufort, South Carolina; and Fallon, Nevada, with completion expected in November 2028.

Vertex Aerospace provides advanced operational solutions focused on defense, national security, and commercial markets, and raised $270 million in a buyout from Veritas Capital according to preqin.com. Ed Boyington serves as chief executive officer, and the company has secured 10 recorded deals since its founding according to preqin.com.

The modification covers organizational, selected intermediate, and limited depot-level maintenance for the F-5, a supersonic jet the Navy uses to train pilots in aerial combat. Key West, Florida, carries the largest share of the work at 36 percent, followed by Yuma at 24 percent and New Orleans at 19 percent. Beaufort accounts for 17 percent and Fallon 4 percent.

The deal spreads federal dollars across five states, benefiting maintenance crews and local economies near Navy air stations. No funds were obligated at the time of award, and the Navy said money will be committed on individual orders as they are issued. That structure lets the service pace spending against its readiness needs while Vertex carries the staffing.

For the average reader, the contract underscores how the Pentagon relies on private firms to sustain aging aircraft rather than expanding uniformed maintenance ranks. Labor cost adjustments tied to a collective bargaining agreement show that unionized civilian technicians, not just service members, keep military jets airworthy.

The award ranks as the first contract recorded for Vertex Aerospace in 2026, bringing the company’s total for the year to $31.8 million. It stands as the third Department of Defense contract awarded in Mississippi during 2026. The figure sits well below the Navy’s year-to-date maximum of $8 billion and above its minimum of about $9 million, placing it in the middle of the service’s 2026 portfolio.

This has happened before. The F-5 platform has drawn steady sustainment awards for decades because the Navy operates the jets as adversary aircraft, and contractors routinely receive modifications to adjust labor and material costs on multiyear support deals.

Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in Patuxent River, Maryland, serves as the contracting activity and will decide on future task orders under the base contract. A date for the next order has not been announced.

Maintaining aging combat jets through outside contractors is a pattern with deep roots in Navy history. The F-5 first flew in 1959 and entered U.S. service in the 1960s before the Navy adopted it as an aggressor trainer, mimicking Soviet MiGs at the Fighter Weapons School established in 1969. Northrop built more than 2,000 of the type, and the jets outlasted their original operational role by decades. Contractors that took over their upkeep turned a Cold War fighter into a training workhorse still flying more than 60 years after its debut.

This contract represents the 1st contract awarded to Vertex Aerospace LLC, in 2026, bringing the company’s total contract value for the year to $31,807,588. It is also the 3rd Department of Defense contract awarded in Mississippi during 2026. Because this is the first award to Vertex Aerospace LLC recorded in the database, it establishes the company’s initial benchmark within the Navy portfolio. Specifically, it falls between the 2026 Navy portfolio’s year-to-date minimum of $9,046,496 and maximum of $8,000,000,000. Overall, this award was announced among 11 Department of Defense contracts issued nationwide on August 5, 2026.