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Lockheed Martin F-35 deliveries at risk as TR-3 testing delays cause setbacks

13th June 2023 - 15:30 GMT | by Norbert Neumann in London

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Lockheed Martin will miss the number of F-35 deliveries it expected to complete in 2023. (Photo: US DoD)

Newly produced F-35 fighter jets could be stored while awaiting the completion of a critical avionics upgrade validation by the Pentagon.

A significant number of Lockheed Martin F-35s might be transferred directly from the assembly line to long-term storage in Texas in the coming months due to delays in testing the Tech Refresh 3 (TR-3) upgrade, the Joint Program Office (JPO) has said.

The US DoD will not accept the fifth-generation fighter equipped with the latest avionics upgrade until ongoing testing for the system is completed.

‘Starting later this summer, F-35 aircraft coming off the production line with TR-3 hardware will not be accepted until relevant combat capability is validated in accordance with our users’ expectations,’ JPO spokesman Russ Goemaere was

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