More than 80 F-35 Lightning II fighters could remain in limbo due to supply disruption amid TR-3 upgrade problems

It was recently revealed that the US Department of Defence will halt deliveries of the fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II fighter jets in July. Dozens of US aircraft will remain in limbo.

Here's What We Know

The Pentagon is refusing to accept the fighters until Lockheed Martin completes all testing of the upgraded technology. The aircraft in question will receive the Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) upgrade.

The TR-3 upgrade will bring a suite of hardware and software level improvements. This is a critical step before the Block 4 upgrade. F-35 Lightning II fighters with TR-3 hardware will be known to be in suspension. Deliveries of TR-2 aircraft will not be discontinued.

The F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) believes the pause will last until spring 2024. The production rate is nine planes a month. This means that 81 fighters will be in storage by April next year.

Lockheed Martin is confident that it will be able to resolve all problems in the last quarter of this year. The company would then build and send 45 fifth-generation fighter jets to the stockpile, almost half as many.

Lockheed Martin isn't saying how much of an impact the halt in deliveries will have on its financial performance. This is due to the so-called "lull period" that came before the earnings announcement for the third quarter of fiscal 2023, which ended June 30.

Source: Defence One