Farnborough 2024: Lockheed Martin resumes F-35 deliveries

Lockheed Martin has now handed over the first 10 F-35s to be delayed by TR-3 problems. (US Air Force)

Lockheed Martin has resumed customer deliveries of the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) after a pause of a little over a year.

Speaking to Janes and other defence media at the Farnborough International Airshow 2024 on 23 July, Jeff Harrigian, vice-president strategic campaigns, said that deliveries to the US Department of Defense (DoD) had recently recommenced after having been paused in June 2023 due to problems with the Technology Refresh (TR) 3 hardware and software.

“The JPO [Joint Program Office] is working through the delivery process, and will properly start rolling that out in Q3 [third quarter],” Harrigian said, adding that 10 aircraft had been signed over to the DoD to date.

Harrigian's confirmation of the resumption of deliveries came days after the JPO said on 11 May that this would happen “in the near future”.

“On July 3, Lieutenant General Mike Schmidt, program executive officer, F-35 Joint Program Office, after extensive co-ordination with the services, Joint Strike Fighter Executive Steering Board, pilots, maintainers, and industry, made the decision to move forward with the truncation plan for TR-3 software,” the JPO said.

As noted by the JPO, the initial TR-3 aircraft are being delivered at an interim training standard, with the full combat coded configuration following once the upgrade is declared ready.

For more information, please seeGAO finds risk of additional delays to F-35 programme .