F-35 - Technology Refresh-3 er enda ikke klar - A&SF Daily

 

An F-35A, in flight above the Mojave Desert in California, January 6, 2023. A developmental test team from the 461st Flight Test Squadron conducted the first flight of an F-35 in the Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) configuration at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The 50-minute flight, which took the jet to 35,000 feet at speeds just shy of the speed of sound above the desert, marked the start of an extensive flight test campaign. TR-3 provides the computational horsepower to support modernized Block 4 capabilities. The F-35 Joint Program Office is the Department of Defense's focal point for the 5th-generation strike aircraft for the Navy, Air Force, Marines, and our allies. The F-35 is the premier multi-mission, 5th-generation weapon system. Its ability to collect, analyze and share data is a force multiplier that enhances all assets in the battle space: with stealth technology, advanced sensors, weapons capacity, and range. The F-35 has been operational since July 2015 and is the most lethal, survivable, and interoperable fighter aircraft ever built.

Lockheed Delivers ‘More Robust’ Software for New F-35s—But Not Full TR-3 Yet

Aug. 29, 2024 | By John A. Tirpak

Lockheed Martin has begun delivering software for Tech Refresh 3-equipped F-35s that will allow pilots to train more comprehensively for future missions, the Joint Program Office announced Aug. 29. The software is not yet the full TR-3 capability, though, and Lockheed is being docked some of its final delivery payments accordingly.

The JPO and Lockheed “have reached an agreement for the acceptance and delivery” of TR-3-enabled aircraft “with robust training capability,” a program spokesperson said. He said the JPO and Lockheed have agreed to “terms and conditions” for deliveries and software releases but did not elaborate.

As many as 100 F-35s had been in storage for up to a year before deliveries resumed in mid-July. They had been completed but not delivered because the TR-3 upgrade—processors, displays, and other improvements—has not been fully tested. To get deliveries moving again, the F-35 partners agreed early in the summer to accept a “truncated” version of the TR-3 software, and JPO director Lt. Gen. Michael Schmidt determined the software was safe for flight in July.

The TR-3 is the basis for the F-35’s Block 4 upgrade, which includes more than 80 improvements chiefly having to do with electronic warfare, navigation and communications, and weapons.

The spokesperson was not immediately able to say what functions the new software will permit, but Lockheed CEO Jim Taiclet said on an earnings call in April that the truncated software will mean the jets can “get … in the hands of squadron, wing, and regional commanders so that they can start training their pilots on them and training their maintenance organizations, and also get the base infrastructure, spare parts, tools, everything else.” He said the jets “could be deployed into actual combat operations” if called on.

“In the statement we sent out in July,” the JPO spokesperson said, “we explained that the TR-3 aircraft initially being delivered had ‘initial training capability,’ and that ‘more robust combat training capability’ would be delivered in August. The ‘more robust combat training capability’ is now being delivered.”

As part of the agreement, the JPO will withhold a portion of final aircraft delivery payments until “TR-3 combat capability is qualified and delivered.” That amount will be about $5 million per aircraft, the spokesperson said. An F-35 costs about $82 million each, according to the latest contract.

The full TR-3 software package is still not expected to be fielded until early next year.