Lockheed running out of parking space amid F-35 delays, says watchdog

Lockheed Martin is running out of space to store undelivered F-35 Joint Strike Fighters as the jets’ upgrade effort remains behind schedule, the U.S. Government Accountability Office said in a report released Thursday.

Furthermore, the F-35 program’s testing capacity is stretched thin and will worsen once the Technology Refresh 3 software upgrade and the Block 4 update are ready, GAO found .

TR-3 involves a slate of improvements for the aircraft, such as improved cockpit displays, better computer memory and more processing power. TR-3 is needed before another group of more in-depth upgrades, known as Block 4, can be installed on the F-35. Block 4 will allow the jet to carry more weapons and provide upgrades to its electronic warfare capabilities.

But TR-3 is overdue due to problems with its software and delays in the production of key parts. Test officials told the government watchdog that TR-3′s software remains “unstable,” almost a year after deliveries were supposed to start.

Since July 2023, the Pentagon has refused to accept delivery of the newest F-35s that will be enabled with TR-3. Most F-35s are built at Lockheed’s factory in Fort Worth, Texas. When a new jet rolls off the company’s production lines, they are stored at that facility until the permanent hardware kits for TR-3 and its software is ready.

GAO did not publish the number of mostly finished F-35s awaiting delivery in its report, at the Pentagon’s request.

But on Wednesday, Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., chairman of the House Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces, told reporters that within months more than 100 jets could be “stacked up on the tarmac — unacceptable.”

GAO said storing so many critical, brand-new jets in one place is risky because some or all could be damaged. The parking space at Lockheed’s facilities is dwindling, the watchdog noted, and the company needs a backup plan if it runs out.

In a statement to Defense News, Lockheed said TR-3 is one of its top priorities and that it will work with the government’s F-35 Joint Program Office and industry partners to put GAO’s recommendations in place as appropriate.

Lockheed also said it has enough secure infrastructure and capacity to park all F-35s until delivery, but would not go into details, citing security concerns.

The F-35 Joint Program Office said in an email that the next iteration of TR-3′s software will start flight tests later this month, and that the military could start accepting aircraft as soon as late July.

“The JPO remains committed to working with our industry partners to deliver the F-35 to our warfighters to ensure they can fight and win when called to do so,” JPO spokesman Russell Goemaere said.

Earlier this week, the House Armed Services Committee released its proposed fiscal 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, which would cut 10 jets from the Pentagon’s proposed F-35 procurement next year, bringing its buy down to 58.

Lawmakers say that would save roughly $1 billion, funds that would then go toward ensuring TR-3 and the jets work properly.

The bill would also prevent the military from accepting 10 of those remaining jets until the Pentagon certifies to lawmakers that several problems are fixed.

Wittman on Wednesday said lawmakers are “deeply concerned” about the delays and called them “grossly delinquent.”

He also described the F-35 as “the critical linchpin in our tactical aircraft capability,” adding that the program and Lockheed have to get the jet and its upgrades right — especially with the Air Force’s planned drone wingmen, known as collaborative combat aircraft, on the way. TR-3 and Block 4 upgrades will be needed to take the most advantage of those unmanned capabilities, he said.

The F-35 Joint Program Office and Lockheed are now working on a partial version of the TR-3 software. This truncated TR-3 software is intended to allow the jets to work well enough so the military can conduct check flights and accept delivery.

Even then, TR-3 jets would only be able to conduct training flights, and would not be ready to fly combat missions until 2025.

The F-35′s testing capacity is also falling short and could hamper the program’s ability to get TR-3 and Block 4 upgrades right, GAO said.

The program now has four test F-35s, all of which are more than a decade old, GAO found. Those jets frequently break and are short on spare parts needed to get them back in the air, the report said. The test jets’ troubles are so severe that there have been times when three were down for maintenance simultaneously, GAO added.

The only thing saving the F-35′s testing fleet from falling completely behind is that TR-3 and other software development is behind schedule, GAO said. But once TR-3 and Block 4 software get back on track, the report added, the current testing fleet could be severely strained, as more flights will be necessary.

Four more test F-35s are in the works, with an expected completion date of 2026, GAO said. But those will be regular F-35s, modified after production with instruments that allow them to conduct basic developmental weapons tests.

These modified jets would have to use some workarounds, and would be unable to test external weapons stations under their wings due to a lack of instruments, the report said. This will likely present a particular problem for the F-35B, which has a greater need to test wing-mounted weapons.

Nine more test jets — intended to be developmental test aircraft from the start — are also planned to replace the current fleet, GAO said. The Pentagon is so far moving forward with procuring six of those jets, the report noted, but they won’t be ready for test flights until between 2029 and 2034. And the current replacement plan will now leave the F-35 program without any test aircraft in 2028 and 2029, GAO said.

While speaking to reporters Wednesday, Wittman said the billion dollars saved by cutting F-35 purchases would help fund an integrated software laboratory, digital twin testing, and more test aircraft to try to get improvements such as TR-3 ready. Expanding the F-35′s test capacity is long overdue, he added, and is coming back to bite the program now.

“All those things are [capabilities] that should have been done years ago and haven’t been done,” Wittman said. “That’s why we’re so far behind where we are today.”

Megan Eckstein contributed to this report.

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.

美国政府问责局周四发布的一份报告称，由于F-35联合攻击战斗机的升级工作仍未按计划进行，洛克希德·马丁公司存放未交付F-35联合攻击战斗机的空间即将耗尽。

此外，美国政府问责局 (GAO) 发现，F-35 项目的测试能力已经捉襟见肘，一旦技术更新 3 软件升级和 Block 4 更新准备就绪，情况将会恶化。

TR-3升级包含一系列飞机改进，例如改进的座舱显示器、更大的计算机内存和更强大的处理能力。在F-35上安装另一组更深入的升级（称为Block 4）之前，必须先完成TR-3升级。Block 4将使战机能够携带更多武器，并提升其电子战能力。

但由于软件问题和关键部件生产延误，TR-3的交付日期已经逾期。测试人员告诉政府监管机构，TR-3的软件仍然“不稳定”，而此时距离原定交付日期已过去近一年。

自2023年7月以来，五角大楼一直拒绝接收配备TR-3系统的最新型F-35战机。大多数F-35战机由洛克希德·马丁公司位于德克萨斯州沃斯堡的工厂生产。每架新战机下线后，都会被存放在该工厂，直到TR-3系统的永久性硬件套件及其软件准备就绪。

应五角大楼的要求，美国政府问责局（GAO）在其报告中没有公布大部分已完工但尚未交付的F-35战斗机的数量。

但周三，众议院战术空军和陆军小组委员会主席、弗吉尼亚州共和党众议员罗伯·威特曼告诉记者，几个月内可能会有 100 多架喷气式飞机“堆积在停机坪上——这是不可接受的”。

美国政府问责局（GAO）表示，将如此多的关键性全新飞机集中存放于一处存在风险，因为部分或全部飞机都可能受损。该监督机构指出，洛克希德公司设施内的停机坪空间正在日益减少，该公司需要制定备用方案以应对停机坪空间不足的情况。

洛克希德公司在给《防务新闻》的一份声明中表示，TR-3是其首要任务之一，并将与政府的F-35联合项目办公室和行业合作伙伴合作，酌情落实美国政府问责局的建议。

洛克希德公司还表示，它拥有足够的安全基础设施和能力来停放所有 F-35 战机直至交付，但出于安全考虑，不愿透露更多细节。

F-35 联合项目办公室在一封电子邮件中表示，TR-3 软件的下一版本将于本月晚些时候开始飞行测试，军方最早可能在 7 月下旬开始接收飞机。

“联合计划办公室 (JPO) 将继续与我们的行业伙伴合作，为我们的作战人员交付 F-35，以确保他们在需要时能够战斗并取得胜利，”JPO 发言人 Russell Goemaere 说。

本周早些时候，众议院军事委员会公布了其提出的 2025 财年国防授权法案，该法案将从五角大楼明年拟议的 F-35 采购计划中削减 10 架飞机，使其采购数量减少到 58 架。

议员们表示，这将节省大约 10 亿美元，这些资金将用于确保 TR-3 和喷气式飞机正常运转。

该法案还将阻止军方接收剩余的 10 架喷气式飞机，直到五角大楼向立法者证明几个问题已经得到解决。

威特曼周三表示，立法者们对这些延误“深感担忧”，并称其“严重拖延”。

他还称F-35是“我们战术飞机能力的关键支柱”，并补充说，该项目和洛克希德·马丁公司必须确保这款战机及其升级部件的性能达到标准——尤其是在空军计划中的无人机僚机（即协同作战飞机）即将问世的情况下。他表示，TR-3和Block 4升级对于充分发挥这些无人作战能力至关重要。

F-35联合项目办公室和洛克希德公司目前正在合作开发TR-3软件的部分版本。这个精简版的TR-3软件旨在使战机能够正常运行，以便军方进行试飞并接收交付。

即使到了那时，TR-3 喷气式飞机也只能进行训练飞行，要到 2025 年才能执行作战任务。

美国政府问责局 (GAO) 表示，F-35 的测试能力也存在不足，可能会阻碍该项目正确完成 TR-3 和 Block 4 升级。

美国政府问责局（GAO）发现，该项目目前拥有四架F-35测试机，机龄均超过十年。报告指出，这些战机故障频发，且缺乏必要的备件。GAO还补充说，这些测试机的故障非常严重，曾出现过三架战机同时停飞维修的情况。

美国政府问责局（GAO）表示，F-35测试机队之所以没有完全落后于计划，唯一的原因是TR-3和其他软件的开发进度滞后。但报告补充说，一旦TR-3和Block 4软件的开发重回正轨，目前的测试机队可能会面临巨大压力，因为届时需要进行更多飞行测试。

美国政府问责局（GAO）表示，另有四架F-35测试机正在研制中，预计将于2026年完成。但这些将是常规的F-35战机，在生产完成后进行改装，加装相关仪器，使其能够进行基本的武器研发测试。

报告指出，这些改装后的战机将不得不采用一些变通方法，并且由于缺少相关仪器，无法测试机翼下的外挂武器挂架。这对于更需要测试翼下武器的F-35B战机来说，可能会造成特别大的问题。

美国政府问责局（GAO）表示，另有九架测试飞机——从一开始就计划作为研发测试机——计划用于替换现有机队。报告指出，五角大楼目前已着手采购其中六架，但这些飞机要到2029年至2034年间才能进行试飞。GAO还表示，按照目前的替换计划，F-35项目在2028年和2029年将没有任何测试飞机可用。

维特曼周三在接受记者采访时表示，削减F-35采购节省下来的10亿美元将用于资助一个综合软件实验室、数字孪生测试以及更多测试飞机，以期尽快完成TR-3等改进项目。他还补充说，扩大F-35的测试能力早就应该实施了，而现在却反过来给该项目带来了麻烦。

“所有这些能力本应在多年前就实现，但却一直没有实现，”维特曼说。“这就是为什么我们今天落后这么多的原因。”

Megan Eckstein对本报道亦有贡献。

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。