The U.S. Department of Defense has halved its procurement request for Air Force F-35 fighter jets in the upcoming fiscal year, according to a Bloomberg News report published Tuesday. Instead of the 48 aircraft projected last year, the Pentagon is now asking Congress to approve the purchase of only 24 F-35A jets from Lockheed Martin.
The scaled-back request appears in a formal procurement document submitted to Capitol Hill earlier this week. While Reuters has not independently verified the figures, Bloomberg was the first to report on the reduction.
The revised request includes $3.5 billion for the aircraft and an additional $531 million earmarked for advance procurement of materials. The cuts also extend beyond the Air Force: the Navy is now seeking 12 carrier-based F-35C variants (down from 17), and the Marine Corps would receive two fewer F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing jets than in the previous fiscal year.
The shift comes amid ongoing delays in Lockheed Martin’s Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) software and hardware upgrade, which has postponed deliveries of updated F-35s. As of 2024, Lockheed delivered a total of 110 F-35 aircraft to the U.S. and international customers. The F-35 program continues to represent approximately 30% of Lockheed Martin’s total revenue.
Neither the Department of Defense nor Lockheed Martin has issued a formal statement on the cuts.
By: Katerina Urbanova
Source: Bloomberg, open sources
Photo: F-35A Lightning II aircraft receive fuel from a KC-10 Extender tanker aircraft from Travis Air Force Base, Calif., during a flight from England to the United States, July 13, 2016. The fighters were returning to Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., after participating in the world’s largest air show, the Royal International Air Tattoo. Officials announced Aug. 2, 2016, that the F-35A has achieved initial combat capability. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Madelyn Brown
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