The F-35 Lightning II from Lockheed Martin Corp. - stealth fighter with growing upgrade path

Reviewed: ad hoc news Lifestyle & Consumer desk. Edited and checked on 2026-06-26, 07:56. Details in the imprint.

F-35 Lightning II from Lockheed Martin Corp. sits on the tarmac with its canopy open, cockpit screens glowing while ground crew in orange vests plug in cables and check panels. The matt grey skin looks almost soft when you brush it, yet hides a dense electronics core.

What the F-35 actually is

The F-35 Lightning II is a fifth-generation multirole fighter family with three variants - conventional F-35A, short take-off F-35B and carrier-capable F-35C. It combines reduced radar signature, integrated sensors and a glass cockpit designed around one large touchscreen.

Pilots like US Air Force Major Justin "Hasard" Lee describe the helmet-mounted display as if "the jet disappears" and the outside world becomes a digital overlay, because targeting cues and flight data float on the visor instead of on classic gauges.

How the jet feels in use

Inside the cockpit, almost everything is driven by taps and swipes on the central display and a few hands-on-throttle-and-stick buttons, so pilots talk about managing information rather than wrestling the airframe. The jet feeds them fused radar, infrared and electronic data as one tactical picture.

On the ground, maintainers work with the aircraft’s onboard diagnostics and portable tablets to track components and software baselines, but they have also criticized earlier logistics systems for being rigid and slow to update, prompting ongoing software refits.

Production, partners and orders

Under CEO Jim Taiclet, Lockheed Martin coordinates a partner network including Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems for major subsystems, while final assembly lines in Fort Worth, Cameri and Nagoya feed US and allied fleets. The program counts more than a dozen customer nations.

For investors and taxpayers, the key metrics are unit cost and annual production rates, which have moved from early low-rate batches toward larger lots with lower flyaway prices per aircraft as the learning curve and supply chain efficiencies improve.

Upgrades and Block 4 roadmap

The current modernization focus is the so-called Technology Refresh 3 and Block 4 upgrade track, which brings a more powerful core processor, higher-capacity memory and new software to handle additional weapons, sensors and electronic warfare modes over the jet’s life.

Because the F-35 is essentially a flying sensor node, software content grows with each block, and operators expect periodic capability drops rather than one big midlife refit - a model closer to smartphone updates than classic fighter upgrade cycles.

Operating costs and criticism

Official US figures have repeatedly highlighted that the cost per flying hour remains above early goals, and some air forces have pushed Lockheed Martin to cut sustainment costs so that high-end sorties do not eat disproportionate chunks of their budgets.

Reliability and mission-capable rates have also been a pressure point, and the company has worked with the Pentagon on spare-parts pools, depot capacity and software tools to raise availability so jets spend more time flying than waiting for components.

Context for Lockheed Martin shares

For retail investors, the F-35 is less a gadget and more a decades-long cash funnel, with new orders, upgrade contracts and sustainment agreements stretching into the 2060s. Lockheed Martin shares (ISIN US5398301094) trade on the New York Stock Exchange in US dollars.

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