According to a Lockheed Martin representative, the first F-35s with the Tech Refresh-3 update, mostly a CPU upgrade on which the fighter's Block 4 version would ride, will be shipped out before the middle of next year.
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The F-35 is expected to complete initial operational test and evaluation late this year, certifying the Block 3F version is fully combat-ready. By that time, work will be well underway for dozens of planned upgrades, collectively known as Block 4.
Block 4 comprises some 53 improvements to counter both air- and ground-based threats emerging from China and Russia. None of these upgrades will change the aircraft’s outer appearance, or “mold line.” Instead, they are primarily new or enhanced features executed in software, which will be rolled out in stages, with updates every April and October starting in 2019 and continuing through at least 2024.
“Instead of doing two-year deliveries … we decided to go to a more continuous capability framework,” said Vice Adm. Mathias W. Winter, F-35 Program Executive Officer, in a December interview.
Now that Block 3F has been “verified and validated,” the Lightning II is a “mature” system, Winter said, and ready to accept “modernization, enhancement, and improvements.” Exactly how many early production F-35s will be upgraded to the 3F configuration may be revealed in the 2020 budget submission to Congress.
The F-35 Joint Program Office and manufacturer Lockheed Martin on Wednesday said the first fighters upgraded with new capabilities may not be delivered until at least April 2024, and possibly as late as next June.
This means the delivery of fighters with a slate of improvements known as Technology Refresh 3, or TR-3, will be at least a year behind schedule. And it could mean nearly an entire year’s worth of F-35s — perhaps up to 150, if production rates continue at full pace — could be parked at Lockheed Martin facilities until the company can deliver them.
TR-3 is intended to give the aircraft better displays, computer memory and processing power, and is necessary before a more expansive modernization effort, dubbed Block 4, can be added to the fighter. It was originally due in April 2023.
Problems with TR-3′s hardware and software caused its development to slip behind. In a March hearing, the F-35 program executive officer, Lt. Gen. Michael Schmidt, first said TR-3 would arrive in April 2024.
The F-35 Joint Program Office earlier this year said hardware issues had been addressed. But the office later said in June that software issues remained with TR-3, and getting its programming to work with the new hardware was proving difficult.
The F-35: Unrivaled Capabilities : The F-35 delivers an unrivaled advantage for our pilots, nation and global partners. A decisive differentiator in near-peer warfare, the F-35 is the most advanced node in the networked 21st Century Warfare operational vision.
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