Lockheed Martin would take at least 18 months to deliver all the F-35 Lightning II aircraft stored by the U.S. Armed Forces, which were taken directly from the production line due to delays in the introduction of the TR-3 upgrade. This information was revealed in an interview conducted by Air & Space Forces with Greg Ulmer, president of the company’s aeronautics division, during the AFA Air, Space, and Cyber Conference.
During the conference, Lockheed Martin declined to specify how many F-35s were stored during the pause in deliveries, but it is estimated that the number is around 100. Notably, this estimated timeframe is longer than projected by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) in May.
All jets leaving the factory or being delivered from storage include the Tech Refresh 3 (TR-3) hardware, and all will receive the TR-3 software installation before delivery, according to Ulmer. The one-year delay in deliveries was due to the aircraft being built with TR-3, which includes faster processors, a new display, and other improvements, but the upgrade package had not yet been fully tested. The government refused to accept the aircraft without full certification, which is expected to be completed in 2025. As of today, more than 80 proposed modifications in communications, navigation, and electronic warfare for the fighter-bomber are not ready, costing the U.S. company part of the stipulated payments.
In July, Lieutenant General Michael Schmidt, director of the Joint Program Office (JPO), approved deliveries with a “truncated” version of the TR-3 software, which allowed the resumption of transfers and pilot training with the new aircraft version. This reduced software version, which was approved as safe for operations, enables training with many of the systems and weapons that will be present in future fighters, partially bypassing the severe delays caused by setbacks in flight testing and the installation of the new upgrade at the factory.
In a May report, the GAO estimated it would take a year to deliver the stored F-35s along with the new ones. Although Lockheed Martin informed the government it could deliver 20 aircraft per month—about one per working day—the GAO noted that the company had never achieved a rate higher than 13 aircraft per month.
“Even with this accelerated pace, delivering the stored aircraft would take about a year once the TR-3 software has been completed and certified,” the GAO stated. However, the oversight body indicated that the Defense Contract Management Agency considered the delivery of 20 aircraft per month “feasible.”
Finally, it is worth noting that in July, Lockheed Martin managed to deliver the first two F-35 Lightning II aircraft under the Technology Refresh-3 (TR-3) standard after the considerable delays mentioned. A few weeks later, at the end of August, the company was able to deliver a new batch of stealth fighters to the U.S. Armed Forces.
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