F-35 Fighters Delivered Without Radars—Unbelievable!

(DailyChive.com) – U.S. Air Force accepts radar-less F-35 fighters—ballast weights in place of critical radars—exposing dangerous readiness gaps left by prior administration’s mismanaged defense spending.

Story Highlights

USAF F-35A deliveries lack AN/APG-85 radars since June 2025 due to upgrade delays, using nose ballast for balance.
New jet noses incompatible with older APG-81 radar, forcing networked operations vulnerable in combat.
Foreign allies receive fully equipped jets, creating U.S. disadvantage amid rising global threats.
President Trump’s Pentagon now faces inheriting Block 4 delays slipping to late 2020s, prioritizing fixes for national security.

Radar Deliveries Begin Without Key Sensors

U.S. Air Force F-35A fighters arrived without radars starting June 2025. Delays in the AN/APG-85 radar, part of Block 4 upgrades, forced this outcome. Aircraft feature new nose structures designed for APG-85, which cannot house the prior AN/APG-81 radar. Lockheed Martin installs ballast weights to maintain balance. These jets rely on data links from other F-35s for radar information during peacetime training. Production resumed in July 2024 after TR-3 software issues halted deliveries.

Program Delays Undermine Fighter Readiness

AN/APG-85 integration slipped from Lot 17 in 2025 to Lot 20 at decade’s end. Northrop Grumman develops the Gallium Nitride-based AESA radar for superior electronic warfare, targeting, and range. It demands new bulkheads, power, and cooling beyond APG-81 capabilities. U.S. jets built post-mid-2024 incorporate these changes, blocking interim radar use. Foreign customers like UK and Poland receive APG-81-equipped models unaffected. This asymmetry weakens American forces while allies stay combat-ready.

Stakeholders Grapple with Production vs. Capability

Lockheed Martin prioritizes delivery rates to avoid cost overruns, proposing Lot 20 fuselage redesigns for dual-radar compatibility. U.S. Air Force accepts incomplete jets to meet numbers, despite operational limits. Joint Program Office declined to confirm details. Rep. Rob Wittman, House Armed Services chair, pushes accelerated testing and highlights power demands tying to engine upgrades. Lockheed CEO Jim Taiclet urged redesigns to former Air Force Chief Gen. David Allvin. Congress oversees funding amid these strains.

Network-centric warfare sustains radar-less jets in exercises, sharing data from equipped platforms. Combat scenarios demand autonomous detection, exposing risks against advanced adversaries. Taxpayers fund delays and future retrofits, echoing past fiscal mismanagement now under review by Trump’s defense team.

Impacts Echo Prior Mismanagement

Short-term, delivery stats rise but create a hollow fleet unable to fly solo missions effectively. Long-term, full Block 4 capabilities delay into late 2020s, questioning program sustainability. USAF pilots train on networked operations, while Navy and Marines face similar gaps. Economic costs mount from maintenance and upgrades. Political pressure from Congress erodes credibility built on production volume over perfection. President Trump’s administration inherits these issues, vowing stronger oversight to restore deterrence.

Experts note peacetime viability but conflict vulnerability. Rep. Wittman calls APG-85 incredibly advanced yet challenging. Defense analysts criticize governance flaws in prioritizing schedules. Air Force’s February 2026 statement affirms development to counter threats, with details classified. Retrofit plans proceed medium-term, but uncertainties linger on timelines and costs.