The U.S. Department of Defense has announced that the F-35 Lightning II has been approved for Full Rate Production (FRP).

The entry into full rate production was made possible by a series of trials and evaluations last year, including a Combined Initial Operations Test and a System Development and Demonstration evaluation.

The U.S. DoD said:

“F-35 achieved this milestone after considering the results from the F-35 Combined Initial Operational Test and Evaluation and Live Fire Test and Evaluation Report, System Development and Demonstration exit criteria, statutory/regulatory documentation compliance, future production strategy, and draft acquisition program baseline details. Proceeding to MSC/FRP requires control of the manufacturing process, acceptable performance and reliability, and the establishment of adequate sustainment and support systems.”

To date, over 990 F-35 aircraft have been delivered to the U.S. Services, F-35 Cooperative Program Partners, and Foreign Military Sales customers.

“I am very proud of our team, and this is a huge accomplishment!” said Lt. Gen. Mike Schmidt, Director and Program Executive Officer, F-35 Joint Program Office.

“The F-35 enterprise has made significant improvements over the last decade, and we will always be driven to continuously improve sustainability, interoperability, and lethality so warfighters have the capability needed to fight and win when called to do so. Moreover, the Program and our great people can now focus on the future of the F-35 instead of the past.”

George Allison
George Allison
George has a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and has a keen interest in naval and cyber security matters and has appeared on national radio and television to discuss current events. George is on Twitter at @geoallison
Twitter

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

58 COMMENTS

      • saddening that we are only really waiting for a software upgrade
        (block 4) to be able to use british kit

        • Hi,

          I was under the impression that before we got to the software updates we needed some hardware upgrades too. Have these been done? Will tgey be back fitted to our existing F35s?

          • Well F 35 production is pretty much filling the runways and car parks as none are being accepted by US forces till the necessary upgrades are completed. That was supposed to have been by last Summer then by years end but don’t think it has yet been completed. So it’s not only the UK who is taking a rain check. Maybe I have missed it and this situation has changed but I think Summer is the next deadline, I could be wrong.

          • Just lifted this from a US site. The full-rate announcement comes as F35 deliveries are on hold pending testing of the Tech Refresh 3 hardware and software, on which the Block 4 upgrade depends. Lockheed is storing about 70 completed F-35Bs in that testing concludes-expected in mid-to-late summer, but production continues.

            It reminds of BL when they used to just build cars on the production line, but without some parts. Then store them outside at Longbridge till they could finish them . If memory serves that was fine except when the bit missing was the paint. Orange Peel.

          • Retrofitting parts is usual for all car makers. You don’t stop production line for a part shortage if it’s coming in couple days and can be fitted after as well.

          • TR-3 and Block 4 upgrade is further complicated by the ECU for P&W’s F135 engine which will improve cooling requirements. Even if the former two items are a go for 2024/25, the ECU won’t arrive until 2028 at the earliest hence the existing engines will wear out more quickly.

          • Just retyped this from the bit I lifted (so once admin approve it you will get a stutter).
            The full-rate announcement comes as F35 deliveries are on hold pending testing of the Tech Refresh 3 hardware and software, on which the Block 4 upgrade depends. Lockheed is storing about 70 completed F-35Bs in that testing concludes-expected in mid-to-late summer, but production continues.

            It reminds of BL when they used to just build cars on the production line, but without some parts missing. Then store them outside at Longbridge till they could finish them . If memory serves that was fine except when the bit missing was one of the paint colours. Orange Peel.

          • TR3 has indeed been flying since December in production ready F-35s it seems so hopefully deliveries in months may well be practical, perhaps this story reflects that milestone. Up to now limitations even on US weapons has been substantial, pretty much Sidewinder, AMRAAM and some Smart Bombs no real stand off missiles at all. No nuclear capability either it seems. No wonder ‘full production’ status has been held back till now. Let’s hope its full potential can finally come to fruition, if no doubt still gradually.

          • Both tactical battlefield nukes & 1 squadron of F35a to deliver them? I know that it is amateur hour to suggest it but do we need a midway point between conventional & strategic nuclear weapons? When our adversaries clearly do.

          • Although the F-35A’s sound like a good idea, they actually cause more operational difficulties because we do not have the capability to do A2A refueling for them. If we could convince them to make an F-35D (A Airframe with a C Nose section then we could refuel them.)
            Failing that we would also need to update the voyager fleet with a boom and that probably means modifying the Airtanker Contract. So yet more expense.
            Alternatively just get a squadron of F-35C’s We can already refuel them, they have decent range and we can cross deck them with the US and France if we wanted to, so we could fly from a US carrier in the Red Sea for instance.

          • Or you just say Sod that and fit a Nuclear Warhead into Storm Shadow and use the Typhoons.

          • Same for the P8, C17, E8, RC135 and Voyager we can’t actually refuel the majority of UK Aircraft Types. PFI is a a disaster on so many levels.

          • True, fortunately those do have reasonable endurance already but we really should be looking to have an organic A2A refueling solution in place. Does Voyager actually have any A2A refueling provision for receiving a top up from another tanker? I’m not sure it does

          • There’s a lot to be said for that financially, buoying up F-35 sales and keeping the US from moving their purchasing strategy towards 4th gen and 6th gen, but other countries are heavily buying into the plane, and I don’t think our purchases will make any real difference.

            I’d rather we bought another 24 Typhoons. Until the F-35 can carry UK missiles, it can’t be relied on for the RAF’s needs. We have no solid date for that. So we should give the RAF what they can actually use for more than just intelligence gathering and the delivery of US missiles; leave the F-35’s primarily for the Navy.

            We know that Tempest won’t be ready until 2035 at the absolute earliest, which means we start replacing Typhoons in the 2040s. To plan no strategic reserve of airplanes in the current global environment and for many years to come is unfortunate.

          • TR-3 acceptance is now promised by LM during the 3rd qtr of CY24. 🤞🤞 Really. Seriously. (Snickering in audience is poor form and will not be tolerated.) JPO is alternatively studiously silent, or whistling the Col. Bogey March. Someone in USAF consulted the Great Pumpkin for a new battle plan, and was ordered to declare victory and pass out awards, citations and promotions. Doesn’t advance the program, per se, but does solve a PR and a self-imposed contractual issue. Here is hoping there is at least one poor son of a bitch, somewhere, striving to resolve the technical issues. 🤞🤞

        • Block 4 is much more than a software update. Its more like a mid-life upgrade that will enable many 6th gen capabilities, and see the jet on its path into the 2040s and well beyond.

    • My thoughts exactly. I was astonished to see that FRP has only just been declared, nearly 9 years after first fielding with USMC.

      Wiki: ” The F-35 first flew in 2006 and entered service with the U.S. Marine Corps F-35B in July 2015, followed by the U.S. Air Force F-35A in August 2016 and the U.S. Navy F-35C in February 2019

  4. Article mentions F35 so all put you Tin hats on and await the torrent of Anti LM & F35 info. Just wnders what happens if no one replies to anything he posts.

  6. Doesn’t mean much. LM are already operating at full manufacturing capacity of @ 150 aircraft per year. Block 4 upgrade is still years away. So I guess further UK purchases are also some way off.
    ” The F35 enterprise has made significant improvements over the last decade” is a comment that makes you wonder how long the Tempest programme will take to reach IOC.

    • A bit misleading to say. Many aspects of Block IV are already being deployed to new and legacy aircraft. It’s true that all aspects of Block IV are still underway, but it’s an increasingly iterative deployment of capabilities. In the software space, you’d call this agile, as opposed to waterfall.

    • I read one article.. Back in January, saying that all 47 F35’s could all be delivered to the UK by the end of 2026.. With a 48th aircraft at some point to replace the one that was lost. Will have to see..

      • We are contracted to buy 48 with some flexibility in timing. I was referring to the ambition to buy more, for which there is no firm contract. I assume we will wait until integration of UK weapons is possible.

        • Not so sure about that, you can’t award a firm contract till it is approved by US for a Foreign sale. Then it’s managed by DOD on our behalf as part of a Block order.

    • Production of the 35 has actually decreased over recent years. LM CEO when stating company results early this year put Production forecast between 75 and 110 in 2024. Over the next five tears LM are looking at 156 a year.
      Testing is taking place at Edwards, Patuxent and Fort Worth. The head of Test and evaluation was questioned on progress and over 20 Test flights had been completed. When pressed on a date his best guess was “Some time in the Summer”. Which would tie in with LM declaration that delivery would restart in Q3. My own guess is those timings become tighter as we near Q1 end with very little progress. Q2 would have to see a major breakthrough. Q4 for delivery would seem more realistic.

      • I believe that production has been affected by supply chain constraints which have still not been wholly resolved,
        The full rate production approval is just a formal step in the programme and won’t do much apart from allowing multi years orders to be made. Deliveries to the US have been halted pending final testing of Tech refresh 3 with LM holding @ 70 aircraft.

        • Not really much of supply chain constraints to produce fewer F-35s, it was a U.S DoD decision to scale back on numbers! No imports of components for F-35 come from China! Most come from within the U.S and some from partners countries like U.K, Italy.

          • The issue of build numbers is very much supply chain. The update is a tech issue and completely separate. DOD never restricted production numbers. In fact the opposite, they have imposed a per tail financial penalty on LM. Hence the $400M hit announced by LM to profits for this year in advance. The other countries building components the ones you mentioned plus Australia, Canada, Netherlands and Norway.
            As for the supply chain issues they are well documented by LM. Reputable magazines. Defense News, Air and Space Technology to name just a few. Another insight is General Schmidts evidence to Congress in January.
            Also FY 2023 Annual Report Director Operational Test and Evaluation published in January 2024.
            If you read the section on the 35 in general I found it quite worrying in general, even worse if you zone in on the B variant which we have bought. The suggest 27% of downtime is due to supply chain. For the C the biggest issue is engine availability.

        • The full rate production is a purely administrative hurdle. An important one in the US system non the less. LM were always aiming for the 156 PA as a company. Can I ask how good your source of 70 actually is of a current holding. Plus a date stamp on that figure. It could give a good insight to 2024 real-time production rates. LM saying they are aiming for 75 to 110 this year. Is as near as 6 to 9 a month. Also they stated by Q3 they would have between 100 to 120 completed awaiting upgrade. If we assume 50 rolled over from 23 your figure of 70 gives us twenty produced in 2024. If your figure is from say 1st of March that would again roughly translate to a production rate of around 110 which is LM higher rate for the year. A date for your figure of 70 could give a small window to projections for the year.

  7. Does that meam the software update the UK has been waiting for, so we can use the weapons we require, has finally arrived & been installed? If so this can’t come too soon. If not I suppose it may help fill other nations orders while we continue to wait.

    • Nope! We are at least two steps away from being able to fit our weapons of choice.

      They have to do this Tech Refresh 3 computery stuff first. Their best guess is it will be done later this year – maybes. Then they have to complete the Block 1V software/hardware upgrade that will enable buyers to integrate their own weapons.

      As far as I can see, there is no firm date or indication when this will be achieved. The last rumoured date i saw in the aviation press was 2027/8 but it sounds like that was optimistic.

      • Yes, the date for Block 4 was optimistic. This from ‘Airforce Technology’:

        ‘Originally due to be completed in 2026 at a cost of USD 10.6bn, the Block 4 programme has risen to USD 16.5bn and is now expected to conclude in 2029, according to the US Government Accointability Office.’

        So just 5 more years to wait… unless the programme gets delayed again!

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here