Illustrative image showing an F-35 airframe being used in an aircraft recovery training exercise back in 2024. (United States Air Force)
The United States military has been reportedly receiving F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter jets without a fully installed onboard radar.
The issue was first reported by Avionics International and the affiliated Defense Daily on February 2 and 3. According to the reports, the issue affects F-35s delivered to the military since June of last year.
These aircraft were planned to receive the new AN/APG-85 radar, developed to replace the current AN/APG-81 radar on F-35s in Block 4 upgrade package starting with Production Lot 17. However, the new radar is being affected by delays and has reportedly yet to enter the production stage.
“F-35 Lightning II aircraft are being built to accommodate the F-35 advanced radar (AN/APG-85) for [the] U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps,” a spokesperson for the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) told The War Zone in February in response to questions about recent reports. “Initial fielding for some F-35 aircraft is planned for Lot 17, which began delivery in 2025 and continues through September 2026.”
These remarks neither confirms nor denies the reports about the radar-less F-35s. Congress is reportedly already informed about the issue.
In addition to the production delay, it is reported that the legacy AN/APG-81 radar — still used on export F-35s — requires a completely different mounting system and cannot be easily installed on airframes prepared for the newer radar.
This issue was highlighted by Representative Rob Wittman, Vice Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and Chairman of the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee.
“The APG-81 is different than the APG-85, and therefore delivering the aircraft, as currently configured, with an APG-85 radar versus an APG-81 radar is challenging,” said Wittman, according to The Aviationist. “The bulkhead configuration is key because for both of the radars, they are very different.”
Just like the AN/APG-81, the AN/APG-85 is an active electronically scanned array radar. It is said to be capable of long-range detection and tracking of air targets with high-resolution synthetic aperture mapping capabilities. Not much more is known about the radar.
To make up for the missing radar and maintain aircraft balance, additional ballast has been placed in the nose section of the F-35s.
These radar-less jets are reportedly intended to operate alongside fully equipped F-35s, relying on the platform’s advanced data-sharing and network-centric capabilities to receive targeting and situational awareness information. These fighter jets will be far less capable, however, especially considering that the antenna of the radar is a key part of the electronic warfare suite used in the F-35.
The issue is not surprising. The F-35 program has a long history of taking delivery of jets missing certain key features, which were later added on.
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f-35s don’t need radar to kick the crap out of iran just like the f-117s didn’t need radar kick the crap out serbia and they won’t need radar either to kick the crap out of russia when the times comes.