F-35 - Continuous Development
The JPO designed the current development process, referred to as Continuous Capability Development and Delivery (C2D2), to provide new capabilities and updates in time-phased increments. The program continues to fi eld immature, deficient, and insufficiently tested mission systems software to f ielded units without adequate operational testing. Although the program designed C2D2 around commercial “agile software” development concepts, it does not adhere to the industry best practices that include clear articulation of the capabilities required in the Minimum Viable Product, focused testing, comprehensive characterization of the product, and full delivery of the specifi ed operational capabilities.
The program consistently failed to deliver the full set of capabilities contained in their master schedule as defined by the Air System Playbook, which was updated again in FY22 to realign capability delivery to another delayed schedule. Although the program has begun addressing some of the key f indings from the 2021 software independent review team, more needs to be done to reduce the discovery of deficiencies in the f ield, including expansion of and updates to hardware- and software-in-the-loop labs.
The program plans to begin developmental flight testing of the TR-3 configuration in December 2023, with software version 40R01. To begin the transition to TR-3 from TR-2, this version of software was developed using the baseline capabilities provided in the 30R07 Series, which completed development in 1QFY22.
The JSF program continues to carry a large number of deficiencies, and conducts recurring reviews with Service requirements representatives to prioritize resources to address them. Although initial development in Block 4 was intended to both introduce new capabilities and address defi ciencies identified during SDD, the overall number of open deficiencies has not significantly decreased since the completion of SDD due to the continued discovery of problems. The new deficiencies include those associated with new capabilities as well as some associated with previously functioning capabilities that no longer work.
The necessary flight test instrumentation (including both aircraft and Open Air Battle Shaping (OABS) instrumentation) for both the remaining Technology Refresh 2 (TR-2) and upgraded TR-3 OT aircraft is not all on contract and will not be available, so OT squadrons may not have sufficient test aircraft with adequate capability or sufficient time to test new capabilities before operational employment.
Technology Refresh 3, or TR-3, is the F-35’s critical computer processing electronics upgrade that will continue to provide pilots with the capability they need to be successful against any adversary. TR-3 provides the computational power to support modernized Block 4 capabilities for the F-35 including: new sensor suites, more long-range precision weapons, improved electronic warfare features, more powerful data fusion, and increased cross-platform interoperability. These capabilities provide the warfighter a combat-edge to identify, track, engage, and survive against advanced air, ground, and cyber threats. TR-3 significantly updates core processing power and memory capacity, which will allow the F-35 to run advanced software packed with state-of-the-art warfighting capabilities. Technology Refresh 3 modernizes the computational core of the F-35 air vehicle. Therefore, new TR-3 hardware and software affect nearly every aircraft feature.
A developmental test team from the 461st Flight Test Squadron conducted the first flight of an F-35 Lightning II in the Technology Refresh 3, or TR-3, configuration 06 January 2023 at Edwards Air Force Base. The very first F-35 with the newest Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) software arrived from Fort Worth, Texas Lockheed Martin to Dannelly Field, Alabama on 19 July 2024. The TR-3 program had overcome technical complexity challenges with hardware and software and was on-track to deliver capability to the U.S. and its allies starting in 2023. The government and industry team continue to find innovative ways to ensure delivery of critical capabilities to defeat future threats. Lessons learned in the execution of the TR-3 program will be applied across the entire Block 4 modernization program.
But by 2024 the F-35 program development cycle continued to experience delays due to immature and deficient Block 4 mission systems software and avionics stability problems with the new Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) hardware going into Lot 15 production aircraft. As a result, deliveries of production Lot 15 aircraft in the TR-3 configuration are on hold until more testing can be completed and the avionics issues resolved.
The proposed Defense Act for the 2025 fiscal year would allow the Air Force to purchase 30 F-35A aircraft . The Marine Corps would receive nine F-35Bs (a variant with short takeoff and vertical landing), and the Navy and Marine Corps can count on nine F-35Cs (a carrier-based variant). The Pentagon's budget request for the 2025 fiscal year provided for the delivery of 42 F-35As, 13 F-35Bs and 13 F-35Cs. That is, the total volume of deliveries will decrease from 68 to 48 units.
In addition, congressmen propose to "cut off the tail" of deliveries in the amount of 20 aircraft. Authorization to purchase these machines will be given only after the Secretary of Defense reports to the Defense Committee on how he plans to address the problems of research, development, testing, evaluation, production and support in various areas of the F-35 program. If the results of this report do not satisfy Congress, then deliveries of the 2025 fiscal year may be reduced by another two dozen machines.
Lawmakers gradually lost patience with the F-35 program. Problems with the Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) update led to a stop in deliveries in July 2023, and this stretched out for about a year. As a result, Lockheed Martin even began to run out of space to park aircraft that were not ready for delivery. The TR-3 software version, with which the F-35s are currently delivered, is an interim one. The machines can perform training missions, but are not capable of participating in combat operations. The customer was withholding about $5 million from payments for each accepted aircraft until the new F-35s become fully combat-ready.
The FY25 defense budget bill also contained an amendment that would increase the number of F-35s purchased for flight testing from six to at least nine aircraft. This further demonstrates that the number of problems is large , and it will take a lot of work to fix them. Lockheed Martin was forced to invest $350 million of its own money to upgrade the F-35. Now Congress is calling on the program's major subcontractors to do the same.
The TR-3 upgrade, which includes improved displays and increased memory and computing power for the onboard computers, does not address all of the F-35’s issues. Therefore, the next package of improvements, up to the Block 4 version, may be required. This upgrade will allow the F-35 to carry more types of weapons and give it improved electronic warfare capabilities. There are clear echoes of the conclusions the US Air Force made after the fighting in Ukraine.
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