New F-35s can fly combat training as DOD holds millions from Lockheed

The newest F-35 Joint Strike Fighters are now able to carry out more elaborate training missions, but the government is withholding millions of dollars in payment to Lockheed Martin until the jets can fight in combat.

Lockheed Martin has upgraded the software in its latest batch of F-35s to handle “more robust combat training capability,” the F-35 Joint Program Office and Lockheed said in a joint statement Thursday. Previously, these F-35s could only carry out “initial training capability” using a partial version of the upgrades known as Technology Refresh 3.

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

Lockheed developed a partial version of the TR-3 software it referred to as “truncated,” which would allow the jets to fly basic training missions — but not in combat . The government concluded the truncated software worked well enough to start accepting the jets and deliveries resumed in July 2024.

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

Top Air Force officials and Lockheed Martin last month promised further improvements to the F-35 will come.

But the new jets will likely not be able to fly into combat until 2025, and that will cost Lockheed in the meantime.

The JPO said Thursday that until TR-3′s combat capability is qualified and delivered, the government is withholding about $5 million per jet in payments to Lockheed Martin. Those withholdings were negotiated as part of the government’s agreement with Lockheed to accept and deliver F-35s with combat training capability.

The newest F-35A fighters, which the U.S. Air Force flies, cost about $82.5 million. New F-35Bs — the short-takeoff and vertical landing variants flown by the U.S. Marine Corps — cost about $109 million, and the F-35Cs 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 making significant investments in development labs and digital infrastructure that benefit the F-35 enterprise’s speed and agility in fielding capabilities to the most advanced and connected fighter jet.”

The yearlong delays in delivering an unspecified number of F-35s have caused ripple effects throughout the Air Force and the Joint Strike Fighter program.

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

“Don’t think that the TR-3 problems are over,” Hecker said at the Royal International Air Tattoo air show at RAF Fairford in England. “We do have a working software in TR-3 that is definitely good enough for training. … But there’s more to go.”

Newly delivered TR-3 jets would likely be sent to training bases, according to Hecker. Combat-capable jets flying training missions at those bases would then probably be transferred to Lakenheath.

And since TR-3 is necessary to put Block 4 upgrades in the jets, the delays have slowed down the next series of F-35 modernizations.

Andrew Hunter, the Air Force’s acquisition chief, also told reporters at the RIAT air show that the service was not paying full price for the incomplete jets.

“We will not pay for that which we have not yet received,” Hunter said.

Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.

最新的 F-35 联合攻击战斗机现在能够执行更复杂的训练任务，但政府扣留了数百万美元的款项给洛克希德·马丁公司，直到这些战机能够参加实战为止。

洛克希德·马丁公司和F-35联合项目办公室周四在一份联合声明中表示，洛克希德·马丁公司已对其最新一批F-35战机的软件进行了升级，使其具备“更强大的作战训练能力”。此前，这些F-35战机只能使用名为“技术更新3”（Technology Refresh 3）的部分升级版本进行“初始训练”。

由于软件集成问题和部分硬件缺陷，美国政府拒绝从2023年7月起接收洛克希德·马丁公司交付的新型TR-3战斗机。在寻求TR-3问题的解决方案期间，洛克希德·马丁公司继续生产F-35战斗机，并将这些飞机储存在其位于德克萨斯州沃斯堡的工厂内。

洛克希德公司开发了TR-3软件的一个部分版本，称之为“精简版”，该版本允许战机执行基础训练任务，但不能用于作战。政府认为精简版软件运行良好，足以开始接收战机，交付工作于2024年7月恢复。

TR-3升级包括更好的显示器、计算机内存和处理能力，这些都是更大规模的Block 4升级所必需的。Block 4升级除了能让F-35携带更多武器外，还能让战机更好地识别目标并进行电子战。

上个月，美国空军高层官员和洛克希德·马丁公司承诺，F-35战斗机将迎来进一步的改进。

但这些新型喷气式飞机可能要到 2025 年才能投入战斗，而在此期间，洛克希德公司将为此付出代价。

联合项目办公室（JPO）周四表示，在TR-3的作战能力得到认证并交付之前，政府将扣留每架战机约500万美元的款项给洛克希德·马丁公司。这些扣款是政府与洛克希德·马丁公司就接收和交付具备作战训练能力的F-35战机达成协议的一部分。

美国空军最新型的F-35A战斗机造价约为8250万美元。美国海军陆战队使用的新型F-35B（短距起飞和垂直降落型）造价约为1.09亿美元，而美国海军和海军陆战队在航空母舰上使用的F-35C战斗机造价约为1.021亿美元。

JPO 和洛克希德公司还表示，该公司及其行业合作伙伴“正在对研发实验室和数字基础设施进行重大投资，这将有利于 F-35 项目在部署能力方面提高速度和灵活性，使其成为最先进、互联性最强的战斗机。”

交付数量不明的 F-35 战机延误长达一年，对整个空军和联合攻击战斗机项目造成了连锁反应。

美国驻欧洲空军司令詹姆斯·赫克尔将军7月份表示，TR-3测试的延误导致运抵英国莱肯希思皇家空军基地（美国空军两个驻欧F-35中队的所在地）的F-35战机数量“放缓”。他表示，延误的战机数量不到12架。

“别以为TR-3的问题已经解决了，”赫克尔在英国皇家空军费尔福德基地举行的皇家国际航空展上说。“我们确实有一个适用于TR-3的可用软件，绝对足以用于训练……但还有更多工作要做。”

据赫克尔称，新交付的TR-3喷气式飞机很可能会被派往训练基地。在这些基地执行训练任务的具备作战能力的飞机随后可能会被调往莱肯希思空军基地。

由于 TR-3 是为战斗机安装 Block 4 升级所必需的，因此延误减缓了下一轮 F-35 现代化改造的进程。

空军采购主管安德鲁·亨特在皇家国际航空展上也告诉记者，空军并没有为这些未完工的喷气式飞机支付全价。

亨特说：“我们不会为尚未收到的东西付费。”

斯蒂芬·洛西是《防务新闻》的空战记者。他此前曾在《空军时报》报道领导层和人事问题，并在Military.com网站报道五角大楼、特种作战和空战。他曾前往中东报道美国空军的行动。