Summary

  • Pentagon is resuming F-35 deliveries without full TR-3 upgrade.
  • The DoD will withhold final payment per jet but will take deliveries.
  • Danish F-35s to get TR-3 upgrade later for training purposes.

The US DoD will soon start receiving F-35s again, which should help relieve Lockheed from running out of storage space. According to Reuters (quoting the head of the F-35 Joint Program Office), the US DoD will soon resume taking delivery of F-35s without the complete TR-3 software upgrade. The F-35 may be arguably the world’s most advanced fighter jet, but its production woes sometimes seem never-ending.

Pentagon to take delivery of F-35s

It seems the pressure to do something to overcome the impasse has given way to a compromise. F-35 Joint Program Office program executive officer Lt. Gen. Mike Schmidt stated, “We made the decision to move forward with the truncation plan for TR-3 software.

f-35A

Photo: Richard Whitcombe | Shutterstock

Reuters reported, “The decision to move forward without complete implementation of the TR-3 software was made in coordination with the various stakeholders.” It is unclear when (or if) these jets will receive the completed TR-3 software update, and it is unclear when Lockheed Martin will work through the issues and be able to deliver new jets with the complete upgrade. Lockheed maintains that the first F-35 TR-3 jets will be ready for combat in 2025.

Despite taking deliveries of the F-35 fighter jets, the DoD will continue to withhold some (or even all) of the final payment for each jet, according to reporting by Reuters. The final payment is $7 million per jet (together the F-35s represent around 27% of Lockheed’s sales).

F-35 Factory - Photo by Lockheed Martin
Photo: Lockheed Martin | Flickr

The announcement comes soon after Denmark announced it would be receiving 6 F-35s without the complete TR-3 tech refresh so that its introduction of the jet would not fall behind schedule. These Danish F-35s will be upgraded to the TR-3 standard at a later date. They will be used for training so that the Danish Air Force can transition from legacy F-16s to advanced F-35s.

Related

NATO: Dutch F-35 Squadron 1st In Europe To Be Responsible For Nuclear Strike

Dutch F-35As have now taken over from the F-16s to operate shared B61-12 thermonuclear bombs.

The F-35’s troubled update

While the F-35 program has matured into the world’s most popular and numerous fifth-generation fighter jet, it has long been in the news for delays and cost overruns. Programs like the F-35 remain in production for decades. Over that time, they have continuously improved, and the latest improvement for the F-35 is the TR-3 software upgrade.

However, delays in the update have caused the DoD to refuse delivery. This has forced Lockheed Martin to store the jets until they can be completed—reportedly, more than 100 are being stored at Lockheed Martin facilities. It has previously been reported that clearing the jet backlog will take a year or more.

Royal Netherlands Air Force Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter jet

Photo: VanderWolf Images l Shutterstock

The TR-3 tech refresh gives the F-35 fighter jet a series of software and hardware improvements (including better displays, processing power, and computer memory). Delays in the TR-3 upgrade are causing frustration in Washington and there are calls to slash the number of jets to be purchased in Fiscal Year 2025.

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