F-35 software updates on hold while the Lockheed Martin-produced fighter jets are engaged in missions in Iran.
This is the alarm raised by Bloomberg which previews a Pentagon report published this week. In recent years the F-35 Jsf program has suffered a severe blow due to delays with its Tech Refresh 3 (TR-3) update, which provides features such as improved processing power to facilitate a suite of new capabilities known as Block 4. The first F-35s that were supposed to feature the TR-3 update began rolling off Lockheed Martin’s assembly line in Fort Worth, Texas, in July 2023. But the Department of Defense had refused to accept their deliveries.
And the situation has yet to evolve: the new TR-3 update, intended to significantly enhance the fighter’s capabilities, was problematic last year as well, while the aircraft currently in service still use a previous version of the software. Currently, the Marine Corps jets operating from the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, engaged in the Epic Fury operation conducted by Washington against Tehran, are equipped with an earlier version of the software, known as TR-2.
The F-35 Jsf, produced by Lockheed Martin, is the most advanced fighter-bomber in the U.S. armed forces. Besides being one of the most advanced, the aircraft is also one of the most expensive (about 80 million dollars per unit).
All the details.
THE DIFFICULTIES OF THE TR-3 UPDATE
As Bloomberg reconstructs, F-35s equipped with the Technology Refresh 2 (TR-2) hardware and software system were supposed to be upgraded to the new Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) system, which would provide “20 to 25 times greater computing power, along with increased memory and a new panoramic cockpit display.”
However, the installation of TR-3 on the aircraft at the time made them unreliable and the Pentagon halted acceptance of deliveries of F-35s that did not have functioning software. “Although we cannot provide specific parameters for security reasons, TR-3 must at minimum meet the equivalence requirements of TR-2 before it can be accepted for operational use,” said Russ Goemaere, Pentagon F-35 program spokesperson, at the time.
The Pentagon report, to be published this week, states that as of September 30, Lockheed Martin’s software updates for the United States’ most expensive weapons program “continue to face difficulties in delivering reliable and fully functional software” for rigorous combat testing prior to installation.
A “FLYING COMPUTER” THAT REQUIRES CONTINUOUS UPDATES
The updates are considered essential for the F-35, described as a true flying computer that uses over 20 million lines of code. New software versions are designed to enable the use of more sophisticated weapons, improve targeting and communication with other aircraft and ground units, and strengthen the system’s cybersecurity.
SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT AT A STANDSTILL
According to the document, “the F-35 program continues to show no improvement in meeting the expected timelines and performance for software development and testing, failing to meet the expectations of its agile development framework,” as “the process of resolving deficiencies and adding new capabilities is at a standstill.”
DEPLOYED IN IRAN WITHOUT SOFTWARE UPDATE
With or without software updates, the U.S. armed forces have nonetheless continued to deploy F-35s in combat.
The United States deployed F-35s near Iran before the start of the Epic Fury operation. Ahead of the start of Cold Response, NATO’s biennial military exercises in the Arctic Circle, the U.S. Army withdrew an F-35 fighter squadron from the exercise, without specifying whether the war in the Middle East played a role in the decision.
Finally, the Jerusalem Post reported that U.S. forces used at least one to shoot down a drone last week. Israel, for its part, claims to have conducted air-to-air combat over Iran using its own F-35s.
