F-35 to get new software this summer—but there’s no date yet for planned full upgrade
Lockheed is hoping to wring out problems this year as the new administration revisits purchase plan.
Audrey Decker | March 6, 2025 04:59 PM ET
Air Force Navy Marine Corps Industry
AURORA, Colo.—Lockheed Martin is aiming to release new software to U.S. F-35 jets this summer, a “step” towards the full, combat-ready version of the TR-3 upgrade, according to a company executive.
“It's really the customer's assessment of those capabilities and whether or not they approve those for what they call full combat capable delivery,” said Greg Ulmer, head of Lockheed aeronautics. “There are some things that I think we will continue to work on to get to what I would call full combat capable.”
The new suite, called Technology Refresh-3 is a software and hardware upgrade needed for Block 4 improvements. It was initially slated for completion in April 2023, but software-development problems have delayed the effort multiple times, and Lockheed execs and Pentagon officials haven't set a firm delivery date for the full package.
Lockheed is about “98-percent complete” in delivering the TR-3 capability, but still has work to do on some classified parts of the upgrade, Ulmer told Defense One on the sidelines of the AFA Warfare Symposium here.
https://www.defenseone.com/business/2025/03/f-35-get-new-software-summer-theres-no-date-yet-planned-full-upgrade/403536/?oref=d1-featured-river-secondary
