Lockheed clears 72 jet backlog of F-35s parked over late software improvements
The Defense Department was withholding as much as $5 million in final payment per aircraft until the company demonstrates that the software and hardware upgrade — known as Technology Refresh 3, or TR-3 — can support intense training missions and eventual full combat operations.
Lockheed Martin delivered 72 jets, the program office told Bloomberg News after months of declining to reveal the number.
Clearing the backlog is a public relations win for the world's leading defense contractor and the most expensive weapons program. Pentagon officials had reduced the number of Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps jets requested in the fiscal 2026 budget from 75 to 47, citing higher costs to maintain readiness levels.
The Pentagon said it reduced the amount it's withholding by about $1.2 million per plane in January as Lockheed Martin was assessed to be making some progress with the software.
However, the 'bulk of funds are currently withheld and will continue to be released incrementally' into next year even if several criteria for releasing them have been met, the program office said in statement. Funds continue to be withheld for new production aircraft, it said.
'It was good the program is still holding back money until the complete TR-3 is delivered to each aircraft,' said Jon Ludwigson, a director for national security contracting with the Government Accountability Office who oversees the agency's F-35 work.
Still, he said parking the unfinished aircraft at the contractor's site posed considerable challenges, and delays with delivering full TR-3 capabilities also slowed down key upgrades and other improvements 'promised to the warfighters.'
'It will take time to get back on planned schedules for the program,' Ludwigson said.
A Lockheed Martin spokesperson declined to discuss the F-35 deliveries as the company is in a quiet period before reporting second-quarter earnings.
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