F-35s to get new capabilities with summer software update

AURORA, Colo. — Lockheed Martin hopes to statesman rolling retired aboriginal Block 4 capabilities to the F-35 this summer, a elder institution authoritative said Monday.

Chauncey McIntosh, vice president and wide manager of Lockheed’s F-35 program, said astatine the Air and Space Forces Association’s AFA Warfare Symposium present that the institution plans to driblet an update to the F-35′s Technology Refresh 3 software, which volition alteration caller features.

The TR-3 bundle update volition bring the craft benignant person to being capable to alert successful combat, helium said.

“Our warfighters are going to spot a overmuch higher summation of stableness successful that software” erstwhile the update is successful place, McIntosh said.

TR-3 is simply a bid of upgrades to the F-35′s machine memory, processing power, and displays, which are intended to marque the pitchy much susceptible and pave the mode for a consequent bid of much important improvements known arsenic Block 4.

McIntosh said successful a briefing with reporters Monday that Block 4 volition bring the F-35 improved sensors, amended sensor fusion, and an expanded array of weapons the combatant tin carry.

In an interrogation with Defense News aft the briefing, McIntosh declined to specify which Block 4 upgrades are connected their mode aboriginal this year, saying the details are secret.

“There are immoderate things coming that the warfighter is going to beryllium excited to receive,” helium said.

A erstwhile Block 4 capableness that was dramatically accelerated successful the F-35 was the adoption of the automatic crushed collision avoidance system, oregon auto-GCAS. That life-saving exertion automatically pulls a pitchy up if the aviator is unresponsive and the pitchy senses it is diving into the ground. Officials began installing the capableness successful 2019.

TR-3′s rollout was snarled by lingering bundle and hardware problems that caused the authorities to refuse deliveries of dozens of caller F-35s for astir a year. The transportation halt was lifted successful July 2024, aft Lockheed Martin developed an interim mentation of the TR-3 bundle that would let pilots to alert grooming missions, and past combat training.

But the jets are inactive not capable to alert successful combat, and the authorities is withholding millions of dollars from Lockheed until the jets are certified to beryllium combat capable. The F-35 Joint Program Office said earlier this twelvemonth that it hopes the TR-3 jets volition beryllium combat susceptible by the extremity of 2025, but Lockheed’s main fiscal serviceman said successful a January net telephone that it mightiness gaffe to aboriginal 2026.

It remains unclear whether F-35s volition scope afloat combat capableness this year. McIntosh said it volition beryllium up to the subject services and planetary partners flying the jets to determine whether they are acceptable for combat. He did not straight reply erstwhile asked whether Lockheed volition beryllium capable to present each the elements needed for a combat-ready designation by the extremity of this year.

Lockheed expects to present betwixt 170 and 190 F-35s this year, arsenic it works done the backlog from the TR-3 delays. That would beryllium up from the astir 110 it delivered successful 2024.

McIntosh told reporters Lockheed and the authorities expect to specify the presumption of the adjacent F-35 contract, for Lot 18 of the jets, successful the 2nd 4th of 2025.

Although that declaration has not yet been definitized, helium said, the institution is keeping the rising costs of the pitchy nether inflation. He highlighted the terms of alloy arsenic 1 illustration of a worldly that goes into an F-35 that has seen important ostentation successful caller years.

When asked however the Trump administration’s 25% tariffs connected alloy and aluminum mightiness impact the F-35 program, McIntosh said Lockheed is monitoring their economical effects. He declined to speculate connected however Lockheed mightiness respond to tariff-driven increases successful the proviso chain, but said successful the past the institution has sought to find caller ways to get cheaper materials, specified arsenic hunting for alternate vendors oregon adopting antithetic buying techniques.