Defense One reports, “The Marine Corps plans to double its buy of the carrier-borne F-35C variant and scale back its buy of the short-takeoff-vertical-landing F-35B, according to a new aviation plan from the service. The service’s total F-35 buy of 420 aircraft remains unchanged, but the service will now buy 280 F-35Bs instead of the planned 353 jets, and 140 F-35Cs instead of the planned 67 jets, according to the 2025 Marine Aviation Plan released Monday. This means the Marines will field 12 F-35B squadrons and eight F-35C squadrons. Notably, the plan also expands the size of F-35 squadrons from 10 to 12 fighters.”
Full Story (Defense One)
Tag: F-35s
Lockheed Martin Delivers 110 F-35s in 2024
Reuters reports, “Lockheed Martin delivered a total of 110 F-35 fighter jets to the United States and its allies in 2024, the Bethesda, Maryland-based defense contractor said in a statement on Wednesday. The delivery total achieves the higher end of the range of 75 to 110 jet deliveries CEO Jim Taiclet gave in an earnings call last summer.”
Full Story (Reuters)
Unmanned Valkyrie X-58A Joins F-35s in Electronic Attack Demonstration
Defense Daily reports, “An XQ-58A Valkyrie autonomous unmanned combat aircraft equipped with an electronic attack payload successfully demonstrated suppression of enemy air defense (SEAD) capabilities with two F-35 fighters in a recent live flight test event at Eglin AFB, Fla., Kratos…”
Full Story (Defense Daily)
Belgium Decides Not to Accept New F-35 Deliveries
FlightGlobal reports Belgium is joining the US in “not accepting new deliveries of the latest Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighters, pending the certification of an improved flight computer and new software.” Belgium’s defence ministry “says it will follow Washington’s lead in not accepting F-35s assembled in the new Technical Refresh 3 (TR-3) configuration, which Lockheed is in the process of flight testing. The military airframer is experiencing delays completing flight certification of the TR-3 package, which prompted Lockheed to lower its F-35 delivery targets for 2023, as customers pause accepting new fighters.” On August 1, the Belgian ministry of defence said, “The refusal of the US government means that the process of certification and qualification is still ongoing and that the US government does not want to accept (and therefore pay) for hardware as long as the software is not fully finished. … This is a completely logical decision that also applies to Belgium.”
Full Story (FlightGlobal)
DOD Resumes Acceptance of F-35s from Lockheed Martin
FlightGlobal reports that on March 14, the F-35 Joint Program Office said that the Defense Department has “resumed acceptance of F-35 aircraft from Lockheed [Martin].” Breaking Defense reports JPO spokesman Russ Goemaere said, “The Defense Contract Management Agency and F-35 Joint Program Office resumed acceptance of F-35 aircraft today from Lockheed Martin and are currently working with the U.S. services, partner nations and foreign military sales customers on the movement of aircraft to their operational units. … Prior to acceptance, the aircraft passed extensive technical and flight worthy checks ensuring their readiness for operational use.” Air Force Lt. Gen Mike Schmidt, the program executive officer for the JPO, said in a statement that the “Government and industry team worked tirelessly on this effort and their work demonstrates true professionalism and a devotion to accomplish complex missions with stringent ingenuity. The safety of our warfighters is always our highest priority.”
Full Story (FlightGlobal) | More Info (Breaking Defense)
DOD May Allow F-35 Deliveries to Resume Within Weeks
Aviation Week reported that the “U.S. Defense Department may allow Lockheed Martin F-35 deliveries to resume within weeks, pending the outcome of legal, security and airworthiness reviews launched after the discovery of a Chinese supplier of a metal alloy in one component.” The Hill reported that Under Secretary of Defense for acquisition and sustainment William LaPlante “said an investigation is underway and ‘moving quickly’ to look into how an alloy made in China ended up in magnets in the turbomachine pumps of the Lockheed Martin-produced F-35.” According to The Hill, “both the F-35 Joint Program Office and Lockheed have insisted that the Chinese-sourced alloy was magnetized in the United States and does not give any other country access to sensitive information, adding that there are no safety issues.” LaPlante told reporters, “They’re looking at two things – one, impact on security, if any, and impact on air worthiness or safety, if any. … Right now, so far it doesn’t appear to be either of them.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Full Story (The Hill)
US Air Force to Determine How Many F-35s to Purchase
Air Force Times reports that the US Air Force is considering cuts to the number of F-35 jets it had planned to buy as the service seeks to reduce the types of fighter aircraft it flies from seven to four platforms by 2030. The four platforms are likely to include the Next Generation Air Dominance system, the F-35A, the F-15EX, and either the F-16 or a possible low-cost aircraft intended to replace the F-16. If the F-16 is retained or a successor is introduced, then the Air Force is likely to reduce the number of F-35A aircraft it plans to purchase in the future.
Full Story (Air Force Times)