delivered<\/a><\/span> without radar systems.<\/p>\nAn unspecified number of F-35s destined for the US Air Force and US Navy will also be delivered without radars. The new radar systems are not expected to be available before 2028.<\/p>\n
The current radar cannot be fitted into the upgraded F-35 configuration.<\/p>\n
One reason the approximately $196 million F-35 carries such a high price tag is its complex shape, stealth coating and integrated electronic architecture, all designed to reduce its radar signature.<\/p>\n
According to The Bunker<\/em>, the situation is comparable to “carbines without bullets, tanks without armor, ships without oceans, or nuclear weapons without the nuclear.”<\/p>\nThe issue has become emblematic of the broader F-35 program. The $2 trillion project continues to struggle with readiness problems, in part because the Pentagon has not purchased enough spare parts to keep its fleet operational.<\/p>\n
The radar shortfall is particularly notable because it marks a second instance in which perceived future threats have contributed to procurement complications.<\/p>\n
A decade after the program began, then-Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall said in 2012 that the initial rush to put the F-35 into production while its design was still evolving had been “acquisition malpractice.”<\/p>\n
This time, the Pentagon says it deliberately accepted the risks of a “highly concurrent development and production program” to upgrade the F-35 so it could “maintain air superiority against future threats.”<\/p>\n
In simple terms, “highly concurrent” means manufacturing components before the aircraft’s design has been finalized.<\/p>\n
That approach ultimately left the aircraft without their new radar systems, repeating the same practice that Kendall criticized 14 years ago.<\/p>\n
The radar-less F-35s will not remain grounded while awaiting the new electronic equipment.<\/p>\n
Instead, the Pentagon now possesses a growing fleet of what has effectively become some of the world’s most expensive jet trainers.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The US military has begun taking delivery of F-35 fighter jets without radar systems after Northrop Grumman was unable to manufacture the aircraft’s new AN\/APG-85 radar quickly enough for installation on upgraded Lockheed Martin jets leaving the production line. The aircraft are being delivered without the radars, each valued at about $9 million, which are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15574,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[176],"tags":[18327,20026,20030,5042,487,20029,20027,7553,9113,13574,823,16933,18803,20028,821,2253,2309,2085,20031],"class_list":["post-15573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-america","tag-air-superiority","tag-an-apg-85","tag-concurrent-development","tag-defense-industry","tag-f-35","tag-fighter-aircraft","tag-frank-kendall","tag-lockheed-martin","tag-military-procurement","tag-northrop-grumman","tag-pentagon","tag-radar-systems","tag-stealth-fighter","tag-the-bunker","tag-us","tag-us-air-force","tag-us-marine-corps","tag-us-navy","tag-weapons-acquisition"],"yoast_head":"\n
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