- Six new F-35Bs entered service carrying ballast inside their noses instead of radar.
- APG-85 delay created stealth fighters without their main sensor
- Batch 17 redesign decisions removed support for older radar hardware.
The United States Marine Corps accepted delivery of six newly built F-35B stealth fighters carrying ballast weights where a radar should be installed.
The plane left production lines without the AN/APG-85 radar that future F-35 variants are expected to rely on for combat operations.
Rather than delay delivery, officials accepted planes configured with deadweight occupying the nose section reserved for the missing equipment.
New radar arrives before the plane can use it
The unusual situation arose because the Lot 17 aircraft were redesigned around the upcoming AN/APG-85 radar architecture and mounting structure.
Those modifications preclude installation of the older AN/APG-81 radar, leaving no interim option until a replacement is available.
The radar will be supplied by Northrop Grumman rather than prime contractor Lockheed Martin, further complicating delivery schedules.
Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Gregory Masiello informed lawmakers on June 23, 2026 that only six Marine Corps aircraft currently lack installed radars.
Acceptance testing for those aircraft began in February 2026 after successfully completing production earlier in the year.
Although the Air Force and Navy have not yet received comparable aircraft, similar deliveries are expected later this year.
Without radars, the aircraft can support basic flight familiarization and pilot training activities while remaining suitable for combat operations.
The Joint Program Office defended the decision, stating that the Pentagon “deliberately undertook a highly simultaneous development and production program for advanced capabilities.”
“This decision was made with full understanding of the risk of having production aircraft ready ahead of their capabilities.”
Delay exposes bigger questions about F-35 readiness
The missing radar comes amid broader concerns around operational readiness across the F-35 fleet during fiscal year 2025.
According to a recent assessment by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, only about 25% of F-35 aircraft reached full mission-capable status. in 2025.
Aircraft capable of performing at least one assigned mission reached 44.1%, although they remained considerably below historical expectations.
Masiello said he would not “dispute their numbers or how they do it” during his congressional testimony in which he discussed the findings.
Using Joint Program Office calculations, he argued that the mission capability figure was closer to 56% across all operational fleets.
The delayed APG-85 radar is part of the broader Block 4 modernization package that continues to face scheduling and integration challenges.
Future F-35 models will require more cooling capacity, as the new systems will consume between 62 and 80 kilowatts, more than double the 32 kilowatts consumed by current hardware.
A next-generation engine was developed that could have addressed this cooling gap, but was ultimately defunded after proving too expensive.
Current plans indicate that the APG-85 will enter service around 2028, but significant cooldown will not come until after 2031.
Therefore, the sight of stealth fighters carrying lead ballast instead of radars may become an enduring symbol of contemporary defense procurement realities.
Through the defense industry
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to receive news, reviews and opinions from our experts in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp also.
