New F-35s can fly for training purposes because DOD gets millions from Lockheed

The newest F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets are now capable of more complex training missions, but the government has withheld millions of dollars in payments to Lockheed Martin until the planes can fight.

Lockheed Martin has updated the software on its latest batch of F-35s to support “more robust combat training capabilities,” the F-35 Joint Program Office and Lockheed said in a joint statement Thursday. Previously, those F-35s could only perform “initial training capabilities” using a partial version of the upgrades known as Technology Refresh 3.

The government refused to accept delivery of new TR-3 fighters from Lockheed starting in July 2023 due to software integration issues and some hardware shortcomings. Lockheed continued building the F-35 while seeking a solution to the TR-3 problem and stored them at its facility in Fort Worth, Texas.

Lockheed developed a partial version of the TR-3 software, which it called a “stripped” version, that would allow the jets to perform basic training missions—but not in combat. The government concluded that the stripped-down software worked well enough to begin receiving the jets, and deliveries resumed in July 2024.

The TR-3 upgrades include better displays, computer memory and processing power, which are necessary for a more extensive upgrade known as Block 4. In addition to allowing the F-35 to carry more weapons, the Block 4 upgrades will allow the aircraft to better identify targets and conduct electronic warfare.

Top Air Force and Lockheed Martin officials promised last month they would make further improvements to the F-35 fighter jet.

However, the new planes likely won’t be able to fly in combat until 2025, and that will come at a high cost to Lockheed in the meantime.

The JPO and Lockheed said Thursday that until the TR-3’s combat capability is qualified and delivered, the government will withhold payments to Lockheed Martin of about $5 million for the aircraft. Those withholds were negotiated as part of the government’s agreement with Lockheed to accept and deliver the F-35 with combat training capability.

The latest F-35A fighters flown by the U.S. Air Force cost about $82.5 million. The new F-35Bs — the short takeoff and vertical landing versions used by the U.S. Marine Corps — cost about $109 million, and the F-35Cs, which the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps use on aircraft carriers, will cost about $102.1 million.

The JPO and Lockheed also said the company and its industry partners are “investing significantly in development labs and digital infrastructure that will benefit the F-35 enterprise’s speed and agility to field the most advanced and connected fighter aircraft.”

Year-long delays in delivering an unspecified number of F-35 aircraft have had a domino effect across the Air Force and the Joint Strike Fighter program.

Gen. James Hecker, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe, said in July that TR-3 delays had led to a “slowdown” in the number of F-35s arriving at RAF Lakenheath in England, home to two European F-35 squadrons. He said fewer than a dozen planes had been delayed.

“Don’t think the problems with the TR-3 are over,” Hecker said at the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in England. “We have working software in the TR-3, and it’s definitely suitable for training. … But there’s still a lot of work to be done.”

According to Hecker, newly delivered TR-3 jets will likely be sent to training bases. Combat-capable jets flying training missions at those bases will likely be transferred to Lakenheath.

And because the TR-3 is required to implement the Block 4 upgrade on the aircraft, delays have slowed the next round of F-35 upgrades.

Air Force acquisition chief Andrew Hunter also told reporters at the RIAT air show that the service is not paying full price for incomplete planes.

“We won’t pay for something we haven’t received yet,” Hunter said.