Lockheed Martin F-35 Deliveries Resume Despite Cost Pressure
Deliveries of the Lockheed Martin F-35 resumed in early July 2024, after a lengthy pause due to delays in anticipated software upgrades. However, financial issues between the government and the company persist. Despite this, a top Air Force leader announced that the Pentagon is expected to start accepting new F-35s this month. Additionally, the Air Force will select the builder for its next fighter jet later this year.
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On July 3, Lt. Gen. Mike Schmidt, the F-35 program executive officer, decided to proceed with accepting jets equipped with a “truncated” version of the Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) software. According to an email from the Joint Program Office (JPO) regarding F-35 news, this decision came after thorough consultations with military services, pilots, maintainers, industry experts, and the executive steering board overseeing the F-35 program. This collaborative approach ensures that the F-35 jets continue to meet operational requirements while addressing the software upgrade challenges.
“Right now we’re very much focused on the TR-3 upgrade, software upgrade, to the [F-35] jet. And as you know, Lockheed Martin had some issues with the stability of that software package. So we’ve held up signing the jets over to the Air Force for the last few months. And so we’re very much focused on unwinding that hold up. And I’m hopeful that those jets will start to be delivered this month,” Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, the head of Air Combat Command, said during a virtual Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies event Wednesday.
Why F-35 Deliveries Halted? [H2]
The government stopped accepting new 5th-generation jets last July because of problems with Technology Refresh-3, or TR-3 in the F-35 update. It was a software related issue due to which the government decided to temporarily halt the deliveries of the most advanced version of the F-35.
Still, Wilsbach further added, “there’s some power generation and some cooling issues with some future upgrades that we certainly need to address. And I will tell you that we haven’t decided how we’re going to go about doing that yet.”
The Air Force is exploring several solutions to address the longstanding issues with the F-35’s power and cooling systems. According to General Kenneth Wilsbach, these options range from “very expensive” fixes that offer enhanced capabilities to those that are “just good enough” to meet immediate needs. Wilsbach emphasized that improving power and cooling is a top priority moving forward, noting, “As we continue to enhance the aircraft’s capabilities, the demand for additional power and cooling will increase, making these upgrades essential for optimal performance.”
Until now 1000+ F-35 has been manufactured, according to the official stats presented by Lockheed Martin. The United States Air Force has 500+ F-35 in its service. It is more than any other NATO country using the same fighter jet.
F-35 orders by country include most of the NATO nations like UK, Canada, Italy, Spain, Germany, Finland, and many others are already using this fighter jet.
General Kenneth Wilsbach clarified that the Air Force currently has no official replacement program for the F-22, despite earlier statements from service leaders indicating that the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program would serve this purpose. This revelation highlights a significant gap in the Air Force’s future planning for air superiority and raises questions about the direction and priorities of the NGAD program.
“The F-22 is a fantastic aircraft. We’re actually planning several upgrades to the jet as we speak. And there is no official replacement to the F-22 right now. Obviously, it’ll be in complement with the F-35s, which we’re continuing to build and, hopefully soon, we’ll start to take delivery of more of those, as we get through the TR-3 slow down at Lockheed Martin,” he said.
He further said about F-15EX deliveries, “And then of course, the F-15EX, we’ve been taking delivery of those this year. And in fact, I just declared [initial operating capability] for the F-15EX, that’s going to be a tremendous platform for us because of its fourth-gen-plus capability and external weapons carriage,” Wilsbach said. “Those long range kill-chain weapons that can’t be carried on an F-35 or an F-22 because they don’t fit in the internal weapons bay. But the F-15E can carry some immense weapons that can go a long way.”
In April, Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet announced that the newly delivered jets will not be ready for combat missions until 2025. Initially, these aircraft will be utilized for training flights, ensuring pilots and crews are well-prepared before they are fully operational in combat scenarios. This phased approach underscores the commitment to thorough preparation and training before deploying these advanced jets in active missions.
The new F-35 production and delivery schedule has not yet been disclosed but the deliveries are resumed for the Pentagon. The upgradation of the F-35 to block-4 variant is already underway. The new version will surely be more expensive than the previous range.
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