Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)

Ozair said:
Not much of a boost when it is still below the 47 yearly projection the USAF provided in the 2023 MSAR for FY2027. A decent number of those 38 also sit in the reconciliation bill and that bill being approved in its current form is highly unlikely.
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As long as the new APG-85 radars and backwards-compatible bulkheads aren't ready, and as long as USAF is only ordering APG-85 & block IV jets, I think it makes sense for USAF to purchase as few as possible until those components are ready. There are plenty of program partners and FMS customers who need their jets, so no shortage of work for Lockheed. The alternative, ordering even more jets that aren't combat coded and don't have radars, taking those slots from other customers, doesn't make sense.
 
joshjosh said:
As long as the new APG-85 radars and backwards-compatible bulkheads aren't ready, and as long as USAF is only ordering APG-85 & block IV jets, I think it makes sense for USAF to purchase as few as possible until those components are ready. There are plenty of program partners and FMS customers who need their jets, so no shortage of work for Lockheed. The alternative, ordering even more jets that aren't combat coded and don't have radars, taking those slots from other customers, doesn't make sense.
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I'll disagree and for a couple of reasons.

First the 2023 MSAR listed the USAF taking 48 a year from 2029 to 2049 while the production rate today is limited to about 156. If the USAF ever does want to increase yearly orders past a meagre 40 or 48 the production line and all the suppliers will take significant time to spin up to a higher rate. Like munitions where the demand signal has been confusing for a long time it is very hard to turn the tap on F-35 production and expect it to suddenly ramp up to a number the USAF now sees as necessary. Pushing partner orders aside isn't a good look and at this point given the aging USAF fighter fleet it would make more sense to take APG-81 equipped aircraft, which the USAF has already indicated it will upgrade a decent portion of the fleet to APG-85 anyway, than still sit at the rate today which will only result in a smaller and older USAF.

Second as good as the jet is I doubt anyone expects the USAF to be taking 48 F-35As a year in 2045, 19 years from now. Every F-35A off the line today will be cheaper to upgrade to Blk 4 than it was two years ago and cheaper again two years from now. The time to accelerate F-35 orders is today so that when Blk 4 is ready so is the production line to meet 80 or even 100 USAF F-35A orders a year and still deliver to partners and FMS sales.
 
fightingirish said:
Hey @Scott Kenny, in my opinion, a local Polish artist will likely suggest either a genuine paint job or a foil application once the F-35A Husarz has arrived or for an appropriate event in Poland.:)
For instance, the tails of their MiG-29s displayed images of Polish heroes.
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Hey folks, especially dear Polish members, the three F-35A Husarz aircraft, with tail numbers #3509, #3510, and #3511, landed at Łask Air Force Base last Friday, May 22, 2026. According to the Polish DoD, an official presentation is scheduled for June 12, 2026. :cool:
 
TomcatViP said:
F-35 Block 3 has provided plenty of assurance (and more) it can do the job better than anything else.
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Radar wasn important, but one of enablers in ops v Iran.
Concern is still China, where it'll be decisive, and where this assurance is at its most questionable.

It's impossible to see under hoods of Chinese fighter aircraft, but common wisdom is that they didn't suffer block 4 hardware and software delays.

Which means, every apg-81 aircraft will be net negative for 5th gen force ratio.
 
First delivery of an horizontal tailplane fully manufactured in Belgium:

Through BeLightning, alongside SABCA and ASCO and with the support of SFPIM, we are combining expertise, precision and ambition to deliver high-value F‑35 horizontal tailplanes, with the very first unit now fully produced in Belgium We were honored to celebrate this milestone with our partners Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems Air, as well as distinguished Belgian authorities.
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https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sonaca_f35-aerospace-defense-activity-7465799612839264256-HJmP
 
There is an overall sense in Ottawa that the decision on the fighter jets is firmly in the hands of Carney, who could use the fate of the F-35 program as part of negotiations over the renewal of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

Under an agreement announced in 2023, Ottawa already has a firm order for 16 F-35s, and has since started to pay for 14 additional aircraft.
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Amazing to see that those that fly it aren't worth a mexican sausage.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/f-35-gripen-saab-lockheed-martin-canadian-armed-forces-9.7225549
 
So, it is happening for real, whatever the InterSchmuck says everyday,
 
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Didn't see this posted yet, another of those issues that lowers the mission capable rate and directly related to insufficient depots and spares and something the program learns as the aircraft ages. Would be great if this fix got jets back put and on the line faster.

Lockheed wins $100M to fix a heat problem grounding F-35s
Every time an F-35 lands, its brakes absorb an enormous amount of heat. The world’s most advanced stealth fighter weighs more than 29,000 pounds fully loaded, lands at speeds exceeding 150 miles per hour, and stops using a braking system that has to dissipate that kinetic energy within the length of a runway. When the heat management in that system fails, the consequences ripple through the entire aircraft, degrading avionics reliability and pulling jets out of service for depot-level repairs that can take months. The Pentagon paid $100 million to get ahead of that problem.

...

A heat sink, in this context, is a passive thermal management component, a piece of engineered material placed within the brake assembly to absorb heat that would otherwise transfer into adjacent systems. The F-35’s brake assembly sits within the landing gear structure, and the heat generated during aggressive stops or repeated landings in high-tempo operations can exceed the design tolerances of components nearby, including wiring, sensors, and avionics connections that run through the same structural areas. The contract documentation describes the effort as supporting “resolution of existing thermal management constraints” and ensuring “the reliability of critical avionics,” language that confirms the components are being procured in response to an identified and documented technical problem rather than routine inventory management.


Depot-level brake repair is among the most demanding sustainment tasks in the F-35 program. Unlike organizational-level maintenance that squadrons can perform with their own personnel and equipment, depot repair requires returning aircraft to dedicated industrial facilities where technicians with specialized tooling disassemble major systems, replace worn or damaged components, and certify the aircraft back to airworthiness standards. The F-35 program has struggled with depot capacity since the aircraft entered service, with a Government Accountability Office report in 2023 noting that the fleet’s mission-capable rate sat at approximately 55 percent, well below program targets, in part because depot repair facilities were not established fast enough to keep pace with the growing fleet. A shortage of serviceable brake components adds directly to that backlog, keeping aircraft in maintenance queues rather than in operational squadrons.
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https://defence-blog.com/lockheed-wins-100m-to-fix-a-heat-problem-grounding-f-35s/
 
Interesting as it suggests the brake system wasn't optimally designed. We know SAFRAN Landing Gear was contracted for NGAD: That could be where the explanation lies.

@NMaude : Social Media
 
https://breakingdefense.com/2026/06/as-f-35-readiness-lags-pentagon-seeks-13-7-billion-boost-gao/

As F-35 readiness lags, Pentagon seeks $13.7 billion boost: GAO​

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The F-35’s full mission capable rate fell to to 25 percent in FY25, the government watchdog found.
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In a wide-ranging review of F-35 sustainment published today, the Government Accountability Office revealed the tri-variant F-35’s full mission capable rate — where a jet can meet all of its assigned missions — dipped from 38 percent in fiscal 2021 to 25 percent in FY25. The stealth fighter’s mission capability rate, measured by whether an aircraft can perform one of its designated tasks, similarly fell from 67 percent to 44 percent over the same period. (Some of that decline, GAO noted, is driven by a lengthy delay for an upgrade called Technology Refresh 3, whose woes previously froze deliveries.)
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Could well be, I do not think that it could be the UK with the purchasing the F-35A as we are getting 12 of them for the nuclear strike role.
 
Ozair said:
The program has been critically underfunded for depot maintenance and spares for the entire duration
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Is there any program that hasn't been?

Spare parts and maintenance aren't sexy. They don't give you shiny new toys or glowing press releases or draw in gullible new college graduates looking to change the world. My eight months in defense aerospace (after 20 years in civil) has been an eye-opener; USG will happily piss away money on studies and concepts and contract negotiation and audits, but simply buying more f'ing spare parts is a foreign concept. We need to do study after study, audit after audit, to show "yea verily we need the parts" and by then they've gone DMS. So then it's more studies, and more audits, and more negotiation and contracts... to redesign something, only to get the redesign canceled because they are out of money. But I guess it keeps the program offices and the project engineers busy :rolleyes:

(yes I'm already looking for another job...)
 
gtg947h said:
Is there any program that hasn't been?

Spare parts and maintenance aren't sexy. They don't give you shiny new toys or glowing press releases or draw in gullible new college graduates looking to change the world. My eight months in defense aerospace (after 20 years in civil) has been an eye-opener; USG will happily piss away money on studies and concepts and contract negotiation and audits, but simply buying more f'ing spare parts is a foreign concept. We need to do study after study, audit after audit, to show "yea verily we need the parts" and by then they've gone DMS. So then it's more studies, and more audits, and more negotiation and contracts... to redesign something, only to get the redesign canceled because they are out of money. But I guess it keeps the program offices and the project engineers busy :rolleyes:

(yes I'm already looking for another job...)
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I heard tale to me that a submarine needed a part that had gone out of production in 1963 (must have been for the S5G plant in either the old 41 for freedom or a 637 class), that they desperately needed to be able to start up the reactor and go underway. Fortunately this was a relatively simple power relay/transformer thing that the OEM could drop a chip into the metal enclosure and send a "not original design but the engineers certify it will work"
 
https://www.airandspaceforces.com/g...kZzAkdDE3ODEyNzM5NDUkajYwJGwwJGgyMDE2Njc5OTM2

https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-26-108113.pdf

Full GAO report and also summary from air and space forces mag. This is a multi-faceted issue. Of the roughly 500 F-35A in US service, 20 percent were delivered with the TR-3 upgrade but aren't fully combat capable yet. That accounts for part of the major hit in mission capable rates. On top of that, you have older F-35A undergoing upgrades. The spares problem has been a constant headache and it's probably safe to say that the global spares pool model has been a failure. Obviously the fully mission capable rate is troubling, but context is important. The F-35's deployed in combat have been reliable when given the spares priority.
 
Its not the distribution model that's the issue, its the availability particularly for the engine parts and working engines, and there is only one factory in the US producing the canopies so no parallel supply for that component whereas most parts are produced in at least two countries.
 
J McInn said:
https://www.airandspaceforces.com/g...kZzAkdDE3ODEyNzM5NDUkajYwJGwwJGgyMDE2Njc5OTM2

https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-26-108113.pdf

Full GAO report and also summary from air and space forces mag. This is a multi-faceted issue. Of the roughly 500 F-35A in US service, 20 percent were delivered with the TR-3 upgrade but aren't fully combat capable yet. That accounts for part of the major hit in mission capable rates. On top of that, you have older F-35A undergoing upgrades. The spares problem has been a constant headache and it's probably safe to say that the global spares pool model has been a failure. Obviously the fully mission capable rate is troubling, but context is important. The F-35's deployed in combat have been reliable when given the spares priority.
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Despite the interest of their report, the GAO has already produced the same numbers with the same error of not including TR3 airframe and program impact. They shouldn't be surprised to be pointed as one-sided.

F-35 meanwhile went through countless combat operations, supporting US strategy, across the whole world, with excellence.
 
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Bounce said:
https://defensefeeds.com/news/aeros...-f-35-fighters-for-undisclosed-foreign-buyer/

"Defense Feeds – Washington. The U.S. Navy Funds 11 F-35 Fighters for Undisclosed Foreign Buyer decision has sparked interest across the defense community as questions emerge over which allied nation is preparing to expand its fleet of fifth-generation stealth aircraft."
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Several users in South America, specifically Chile, claim that the Chilean Air Force is supposedly that secret client, since they were looking for a replacement for their F-5s.
 
Would like to see the F-35 in Chilean Air Force service, though I think that the F-35 is going to be a large step up from the F-5 in some ways.
 
So would Chile purchase further F-35s after the initial order to replace the F-5 fleet to make it an all F-35 Air Force? It would make sense as their F-16s are getting old.
 
serg.gonzp said:
Several users in South America, specifically Chile, claim that the Chilean Air Force is supposedly that secret client, since they were looking for a replacement for their F-5s.
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Its not Chile... All indications suggest that Belgium is the actual customer.

Those still expecting Chile to be that 'undisclosed foreign buyer' are probably setting themselves up for disappointment.
 

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