On August 29, the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) announced that Lockheed Martin delivered a new batch of stealth fighters to the U.S. Armed Forces, equipped with an improved version of the problematic TR-3 upgrade, though it still lacks the full originally projected capabilities. In line with this, the JPO and Lockheed Martin have agreed to move forward with the delivery of new units equipped with the current development, with the intention that they serve for pilot familiarization and training with these new technologies.
Regarding this, Jim Taiclet, CEO of Lockheed Martin, stated in a conference call that the new F-35s equipped with the recently launched software could: “reach squadron, wing, and regional commanders so they can start training their pilots on them, training their maintenance organizations, and also acquiring the basic infrastructure, spare parts, tools, and so on (…) they could be deployed in real combat operations (if necessary).”
It is worth noting that the full TR-3 upgrade is expected next year, as more than 80 proposed modifications in communications, navigation, and electronic warfare for the fighter-bomber are not yet ready, costing the company part of the stipulated payments. Specifically, the JPO could withhold approximately $5 million per F-35 that was supposed to be upgraded to the TR-3 standard but has not yet been delivered; it should be noted that each aircraft (according to the latest signed contract) has a cost of $82 million.
It is also useful to mention that, in order to unblock the delivery of over 100 stored aircraft, both Lockheed Martin and the JPO were pushed to negotiate the resumption of deliveries under a “truncated” version of the F-35’s upgrade package. This version was declared safe for operations in July by Lieutenant General Michael Schmidt (director of the JPO), partially overcoming the significant delays caused by testing and factory installation setbacks of the new update. Not only were U.S. fighter-bombers affected, as demonstrated by Denmark’s F-35 return from the U.S.
Lastly, it should be mentioned that this announcement came a day after the company secured several contracts related to the F-35 program, worth five billion dollars, for the delivery of simulators, spare parts, technical support, and other services. This will help accelerate what the JPO referred to as “significant investments in development laboratories and digital infrastructure that benefit the speed and agility of the F-35 enterprise in deploying new capabilities.”
Images used for illustrative purposes.
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