Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter pogramme in crisis: rising costs, TR-3 delays and engine modernisation failures

stlbeacon.org - 11/24/2025

After years of uninterrupted cost growth and mounting implementation problems, the programme to modernise the avionics of Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft to the TR-3/Block 4 standard has already exceeded its planned budget by more than six billion US dollars and is five years behind schedule. In an attempt to curb this process, the Pentagon plans to reduce the scope of the modernisation, which will result in the installation of a downgraded TR-3/Block 4 package.

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