Shares of Lockheed Martin fell as President-elect Donald Trump tweeted that making F-35 fighter planes is too costly and that he will cut "billions" in costs for military purchases.
The F-35 program and cost is out of control. Billions of dollars can and will be saved on military (and other) purchases after January 20th.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2016
Lockheed makes the F-35 one-seat fighter aircraft for the U.S. and is a major defense contractor. The F-35 program made up 20 percent of Lockheed's total revenue last year.
This is the second time in a week that Trump has blasted U.S. aircraft spending. Last week, Trump tweeted that costs to build new presidential planes by Boeing Corp. were "out of control" and ended the tweet with "Cancel order!"
>> Related: Trump tweet: ‘Cancel order' for new Boeing 747 Air Force One
Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 6, 2016
When Trump was asked about the tweet by media gathered in the lobby of Trump Tower last week, he said: "Well, the plane is totally out of control. It's going to be more than $4 billion for the Air Force One program and I think it's ridiculous. I think that Boeing is doing a little bit of a number. We want Boeing to make a lot of money, but not that much money."
A top Boeing analyst, Scott Hamilton, called Trump "clueless," in his own tweet that linked to a story in Politico, which said the Air Force had previously said that it had earmarked $1.65 billion for the two new aircraft, which will be four-engine Boeing 747-8s.
Boeing later released the following statement on the Air Force One program:
"We are currently under contract for $170 million to help determine the capabilities of these complex military aircraft that serve the unique requirements of the President of the United States. We look forward to working with the U.S. Air Force on subsequent phases of the program allowing us to deliver the best planes for the President at the best value for the American taxpayer."
Representatives from Lockheed, based in Bethesda, Maryland, did not immediately have a comment.
Lockheed Martin Corp. shares fell 4.1 percent to $248.86 in morning stock trading Monday.
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