Recent reporting suggests that some new F‑35 Joint Strike Fighters delivered to the U.S. Air Force may be arriving without installed radars due to persistent delays with the next‑generation AN/APG‑85 radar, a key part of the Block 4 upgrade package. The F‑35 Joint Program Office has not confirmed or denied these reports, but publicly available information indicates Lot 17 aircraft — delivered since June 2025 — were built to accommodate the APG‑85, which isn’t yet ready for operational use, reports .
Without a radar, the aircraft can still fly and share sensor data with other F‑35s via advanced data links, but its independent detection and electronic warfare capabilities would be significantly degraded, potentially limiting combat effectiveness until radars are installed later. TWZ writes:
The F-35 Joint Program Office has declined to confirm or deny a report that Joint Strike Fighters are being delivered to the U.S. military without radars due to chronic issues with a key upgrade program. However, other confirmed publicly available information does seem to very strongly point to that being the case. The new AN/APG-85 radar is a critical element of the larger Block 4 upgrade package for all variants of the F-35, which has been mired in cost growth and delays.
Defense Daily first reported that the U.S. military had received F-35s with no radars last week, citing an unnamed source. Deliveries of radar-less F-35s were said to have started in June 2025, with all A models for the U.S. Air Force arriving since then, at least, affected. […]
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