The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has a troubled development history, beset with delays and cost overruns.

Now, an ongoing delay for the F-35’s latest upgrade has inspired the US Air Force to purchase fewer F-35s than originally planned for fiscal year 2025.

The decision, and the delays, is consistent with the problems that have plagued the program since the beginning.

Reducing the Order on F-35 Fighters 

The USAF announced on Monday that it would buy 42 F-35As, rather than the expected 48. In explaining the order reduction, USAF official Kristyn Jones explained that the decision was based on two things: concerns over delays to the ongoing upgrade, known as Technology Refresh 3; and general budget limitations.

“We want the planes that we want, and TR-3 [and] Block 4 capabilities have been delayed,” Jones said. “Our approach is to minimize the impact of that by procuring fewer of those,” for the next few years. Jones indicated that the USAF would ramp up F-35 purchases again, to 48 per year, in fiscal year 2029. The decision is another black mark against F-35 builder Lockheed Martin.

TR-3 is a set of hardware and software upgrades that will improve displays, computer memory, and processing power. The TR-3 upgrades must be in place before “a broader series of upgrades known as Block 4 can be rolled out.”

Block 4 will permit the F-35 to operate with better weapons, more weapons, improved target recognition, and improved electronic warfare capabilities.

Yet, TR-3 is already a year behind schedule, and will likely remain behind schedule for several more months, on account of software and integration problems.

“The delays have prompted the Pentagon to stop accepting deliveries of newly-built F-35s until TR-3 is ready,” Defense News reported. “Lockheed Martin finished building the first F-35s that were ready to have the TR-3 improvements in July 2023. But because the software wasn’t ready, the Defense Department couldn’t conduct the check flights required to accept delivery.”

The backlogged F-35s are being stored at Lockheed Martin’s main factory in Fort Worth, Texas.

“TR-3 remains our top priority,” Lockheed Martin said in a statement to Defense News. “We expect to begin delivering TR-3 jets in the third quarter [of 2024] and are committed to provide unrivaled, advanced capabilities in support of our customers’ missions.”

The Good News on This F-35 Challenge 

The good news for Lockheed Martin is that their customers, i.e., the US Air Force, US Navy, and US Marine Corps, doesn’t have much of an alternative but to wait for the upgrades. Lockheed Martin indicated that they planned to continue building new F-35s, even as they worked to fix the TR-3 upgrades – suggesting that the market for the fifth-generation jet will not be diminishing anytime soon.

Representative Rob Wittman, a Republican from Vermont and chairman of the House Armed Services subcommittee on tactical air and land forces, has expressed displeasure over the TR-3 delays. The backlog “should be deeply disturbing,” Wittman said, “to everyone across the enterprise, especially since the Air Force’s plan is to retire current fighter jet inventory.”

“This has to be fixed in the long term,” Wittman said, echoing sentiments that been lingering around the F-35 program for over a decade.    

About the Author: Harrison Kass 

Harrison Kass is a defense and national security writer with over 1,000 total pieces on issues involving global affairs. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.