F-35A Lighting II. Image – – DVIDS/ Capt. Daniel Rubio
Lockheed Martin recently indicated that it will deliver only 97 F-35s in 2023. The company had originally planned to deliver 147-153 F-35s during the year, but subsequently reduced this target in July 2023 to 100-120 aircraft. Lockheed Martin delivered 141 F-35s in 2022.
The revised delivery plan is a result of a delay in certification of the Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) upgrades that are needed to power capabilities of the F-35’s new Block 4 configuration. TR-3 upgrades include a new integrated core processor with greater computing power, a panoramic cockpit display, and an enhanced memory unit.
The initial delivery of a TR-3 equipped F-35 is now planned to occur in the April-June 2024 timeframe, postponed from the previously planned target date in 2023. The 97 aircraft still slated for delivery in 2023 are being built in the older TR-2 configuration.
Lockheed Martin has a longer-term plan to deliver 156 F-35s annually, starting in 2025.
Despite the cutback in planned deliveries for 2023, Lockheed Martin is continuing to build the F-35 at a rate of 156 aircraft per year, and placing undelivered aircraft into storage pending availability of the TR-3 updates.
