Lockheed Martin has no free parking spaces left for “second-class” F-35s, which the Pentagon does not accept

Despite the fact that the world's largest military-industrial company Lockheed Martin has already produced over 1 thousand units of fifth-generation stealth fighters of the F-35 Lightning II family and has vowed to produce 2024-175 such aircraft annually from 180 to satisfy all customers, the US Department of Defense is not very happy with the realities.

The thing is that the Pentagon is not concerned about the speed at which these aircraft enter service and their quantity; the department is interested in the quality of this very expensive product. According to a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the aircraft manufacturer is already running out of parking space for aircraft that are not ready for delivery to the military. The US Department of Defense simply refuses to accept “second-class goods” for now.



In the summer of 2023, the US government banned the entry into service of the next F-35 due to delays in the implementation of modifications to the design under the Technology Refresh-3 program, which involves the installation of updated electronic equipment and new software to increase the combat capabilities of the aircraft. The cost of the TR-3 upgrade is $1,8 billion. Since then, the number of aircraft units near the Lockheed Martin workshops has grown steadily and has now reached the limit of the capacity of the prepared area (parking capacity and any suitable places in the plant).

GAO did not indicate a specific number of such aircraft, as the Pentagon considered this figure “inappropriate for public release (disclosure).” But if they start “parking the F-35 behind the fence,” it will be a shame.

At the same time, representatives of the aircraft manufacturer claim that the existing storage infrastructure is sufficient. But these statements also lack any specifics, since “details about parking will not be disclosed for security reasons,” i.e., “take our word for it.” In January, Lockheed Martin leased about 1,3 hectares of territory 11 km from its plant in Fort Worth, Texas. However, the GAO is skeptical because even when the TR-3 program is tested and approved, it will take about another year to deliver all the aircraft currently parked at the Lockheed plant. But during this time, even more aircraft may appear.

Moreover, problems that have arisen with software development and delays in avionics deliveries are pushing back the implementation of all TR-3 capabilities to the end of 2024 - beginning of 2025. Before this, the start of deliveries of aircraft modified according to TR-3 was planned for July 2023. The TR-3 software has difficulties supporting radar and electronic warfare systems. Test pilots complain that they had to reload the radar software, several times per flight.

The Pentagon, seeing a similar picture, is thinking about resuming the acceptance of aircraft from the assembly line without completely modernizing the TR-3. Deliveries could resume as early as July 2024, but the current version of the F-35 will not be considered combat-ready, and the aircraft can only be used for training purposes. However, this is not yet a fact, since there are still few military personnel ready to sign. Moreover, these aircraft will still be sent for the mentioned modernization when the jam at Lockheed Martin “clears up.”