It is no surprise that the TR-3 upgrade for the F-35s of the United States Armed Forces is not going as expected. In addition to delays in the development and testing of the new stealth fighter configuration, there is growing concern from various operators about potential storage problems reported by Lockheed Martin. This stems from the Pentagon’s 2023 decision not to accept deliveries of new F-35s, in their A, B, and C versions, with the new configuration until all recorded issues are resolved. However, this stance may have changed with the adoption of a transitional measure.
Called Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3), this is the next major capability upgrade for the F-35s of the United States and allied Armed Forces. The incorporation of new hardware and software improvements increases processing capacity and computing power, paving the way for the modernization to Block IV of the fifth-generation fighter. However, as has been reported, there have been sustained delays both in the flight test campaign and in the integration of the configuration into new factory aircraft to be delivered.
The situation, reported on numerous occasions by both U.S. Armed Forces F-35 program officials and government and congressional audit bodies, led to the Pentagon’s decision not to accept new fighters until these problems are resolved by Lockheed Martin, creating another series of issues, such as the storage of aircraft at a single point, with the potential security risks this could entail.
In view of this situation and presumably after various negotiations between Lockheed Martin and authorities, the Pentagon would agree to resume deliveries of F-35 fighters for the U.S. Armed Forces. However, these combat aircraft would come with a partial or truncated update of the TR-3 configuration, which would allow them to conduct acceptance flights and training tasks but not be deployed on combat missions. This was hinted at by Lockheed Martin itself, through Jim Taiclet, who indicated that the aircraft would not be able to fly on combat missions until 2025, with the complete upgrade to the TR-3 configuration.
Lastly, the final confirmation of this decision is still awaited from both the Pentagon and the Joint F-35 Program Chiefs. Meanwhile, fifth-generation combat aircraft continue to roll off the production and assembly lines located in Fort Worth, Texas, awaiting the resumption of deliveries.
You may also like: The United States, the Netherlands, and Denmark confirm that they have already begun the transfer of F-16 Fighting Falcon jets to Ukraine
