We’ve written many times about the problems with the F-35 Lightning II. Because of these issues, Lockheed Martin will deliver 52 fewer aircraft than expected in 2023.
Here’s what we know
As of July 14, 2023, Lockheed Martin has delivered 62 fifth-generation fighter aircraft to customers. The full-year plan called for 143 aircraft to be delivered, including 52 models with Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) hardware and software.
In June, the Pentagon said the F-35 TR-3s would be in storage while the company finalized the program. Because of this, Lockheed Martin will lose more than $400 million by the end of this year. Deliveries of the F-35 TR-2 will continue.
In total, the company planned to deliver 91 F-35 Lightning II fighters to customers without new software and hardware. Since Lockheed has already delivered 62 of the aircraft, it will be able to deliver another 29 models by the end of the year.
It won’t take more than a week to load the software onto the F-35. The defense contractor thinks they can solve all the problems by December. At the discretion of the Department of Defense, shipments of the F-35 TR-3 will resume next April.
source: bloomberg
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