Lockheed frames F‑35 refresh story

Lockheed Martin’s near-term F-35 story is less about a new jet than about rebuilding the jet’s digital guts so later upgrades can run. (gao.gov) Technology Refresh 3 is the hardware-and-software package underneath that work: new processors, more memory, faster display processing and an open-architecture mission system. The F-35 Joint Program Office said on July 19, 2024 that deliveries of the first Technology Refresh 3-configured F-35As had begun. (f35.com) Block 4 is the next layer on top of that base. The Joint Program Office said Technology Refresh 3 “enables Block 4” and described Block 4 as the path to added weapons, electronic warfare and other mission-system upgrades. (f35.com) That sequencing has driven the program’s recent delays. The Government Accountability Office said in a 2025 report that Technology Refresh 3, a $1.9 billion upgrade suite, was the primary reason Lockheed Martin delivered F-35s late in 2024. (gao.gov) The F-35 matters to Lockheed Martin’s numbers because it is the company’s biggest program. Lockheed Martin said in its 2025 annual report that the F-35 generated 27% of total company sales and 67% of Aeronautics sales in 2025. (lockheedmartin.com) The production picture changed again in 2025. Lockheed Martin said on January 7, 2026 that it delivered 191 F-35s in 2025, above the prior record of 142, after deliveries of Technology Refresh 3 jets started in the second half of 2024. (lockheedmartin.com) That is why analysts are describing a “refresh” instead of a clean-sheet launch. The company is still selling the same fighter airframe, but the current work is concentrated in computing, software and follow-on capability inserts rather than in a brand-new aircraft model. (f35.com) Government auditors have been less celebratory about the pace. The Government Accountability Office said in 2024 that the F-35 program had entered its sixth year of Block 4 modernization while still facing software delays, engine-upgrade questions and production issues. (gao.gov) Lockheed Martin has framed the same work as the route to keeping the aircraft current. In its July 19, 2024 update, the company said it was continuing to focus on advancing Technology Refresh 3 and Block 4 capabilities with the Joint Program Office while maintaining a 156-aircraft annual production rate. (lockheedmartin.com) So the F-35 “refresh” story in 2026 is a story about timing: Technology Refresh 3 has to land first, Block 4 rides on top of it, and Lockheed Martin’s biggest program is being judged on whether those digital upgrades arrive on schedule. (gao.gov)