US F-35 Fighter Jets Upgrade Program: The United States has started a big upgrade plan for its F-35 Lightning II stealth jet. The work is worth almost $1 billion and is meant to improve electronic warfare tools and combat power across many aircraft used by the U.S. military and by foreign users of the Joint Strike Fighter program.
Lockheed Martin has been given a $991.1 million contract to make and deliver 432 modification kits for the jets. The order is spread across several users. It covers 97 aircraft for the U.S. Air Force, 54 for the U.S. Marine Corps, 42 for the U.S. Navy, 106 jets under Foreign Military Sales, and 133 aircraft from non-U.S. partner nations.
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What will the Upgrade Add?
These kits are part of the F-35’s Block 4 upgrade path. Lockheed Martin calls Block 4 “the most significant evolution of F-35 capabilities to date”. The company says this package has over 70 major upgrades for all three F-35 variants. It adds more missile space, better electronic warfare tools, improved target finding, and other classified changes. The company also says that “Block 4 capability upgrades benefit all nations operating the F-35”.
The Electronic Warfare Core
The F-35 already uses the AN/ASQ-239 electronic warfare suite made by BAE Systems. BAE says the system is “the world’s most advanced, fully integrated electronic warfare (EW) and countermeasures technology”. It also says the suite gives the F-35 “360° situational awareness” and helps pilots “identify, monitor, analyze, and respond to threats”. The system offers radar warning, electronic attack, targeting support, and countermeasures in one setup.
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F-35 program Importance
This upgrade push comes while the F-35 remains one of the biggest fighter programs in the world. The official F-35 program page lists 19 allied nations in the program, including the United States. The report also said the modernisation drive comes amid claims that F-35s operating near the Strait of Hormuz were squawking transponder code 7700, which is an emergency signal. It also noted that Iran has made earlier claims about hitting F-35s, including one case where an aircraft may have been grazed by a surface-to-air missile
