Lockheed Martin continues to produce F-35s at a rate of 156 per year. TR-3-equipped jets are being stored until deliveries with the 'truncated' software load resume. (Lockheed Martin Aeronautics)
The F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO), which administers acquisition of the aircraft for the US Department of Defense (DoD) and international customers, said that deliveries would resume “in the near future”, according to an 11 July statement. Deliveries were suspended in June 2023 amid stability problems with the TR-3 hardware and software load, intended to introduce a slate of new weaponry and electronic warfare capabilities to the aircraft.
“On July 3, Lieutenant General Mike Schmidt, program executive officer, F-35 Joint Program Office, after extensive co-ordination with the services, Joint Strike Fighter Executive Steering Board, pilots, maintainers, and industry, made the decision to move forward with the truncation plan for TR-3 software,” said the JPO. “Deliveries of F-35 aircraft will resume in the near future and we will keep you posted.”
Under the ‘truncation plan', F-35s are to be delivered with an interim TR-3 load suitable for training but not certified for combat, to be upgraded once TR-3 is officially certified as stable. The JPO had not responded to Janes questions at the time of publication.
The disclosure follows comments by US Air Force (USAF) General Kenneth Wilsbach, commander of Air Combat Command (ACC), who said that he expects deliveries of the Lockheed Martin F-35 to resume later in July. Gen Wilsbach, speaking to a crowd at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies on 10 July, said that the USAF is “very much focused on the TR-3 software upgrade to the jet … Lockheed Martin had some issues with stability of that software package”.
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