Lockheed Martin began delivering F-35s again on July 19, after a year of building the fighters and putting them directly into storage because their Tech Refresh 3 systems and software were not fully tested.
More than 90 brand-new F-35s, many in storage since last fall, can be delivered now that a “truncated” version of the Tech Refresh 3 software has been approved for use.
Newly-built F-35s that have been stacking up in storage could start to be delivered as soon as July, assuming a “truncated” Tech Refresh 3 software package is stable and safe enough for operational crews, the Joint Program Office said.
Even after the F-35’s Tech Refresh 3 hardware and software package is cleared for operational use, the Joint Program Office warns that software patches and updates may be needed every two to six weeks, rather than every six months.
An Air Force pilot was at the controls when an F-35B in short takeoff mode crashed at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., on May 29. The pilot ejected and suffered serious injuries but is in stable condition.
The House Armed Services Committee will add three more test-dedicated F-35s to the fleet, reaching the nine the Joint Program Office said it needs to meet test requirements. The move is part of a cluster of efforts the HASC is taking to put the spurs ...
Exasperated with the delays to the F-35’s Tech Refresh 3 update—which has held up deliveries of completed fighters since last fall—the House Armed Services Committee wants to slash the military services’ fiscal 2025 F-35 purchase by at least 10 aircraft and as much as 20.
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has been cleared for full rate production in a Milestone C decision directed by Pentagon acquisition executive William LaPlante.
A delivery hold on F-35 fighters is hurting the Air Force, denying it the operational advantages it needs while causing it to spend money on extending older fighters, Secretary Frank Kendall said.
The production rate for the F-35 will likely remain stable for at least five years, Lockheed Martin aeronautics executive vice president Greg Ulmer said.
New F-35s are coming off the production line with the TR-3 upgrade and going right into storage because testing is incomplete. Next lot negotiations are continuing, but talks over a performance-based logistics contract have stalled.
Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet thinks completing flight testing of the F-35 Tech Refresh-3 by the middle of 2024 is "manageable," saying the complex changes are taking time because the technologies are comparable to those in driverless cars and autonomous aircraft.