F-35 C2D2

Mission — Air Vehicle - Tech Refresh 3 source

Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) conducts post Critical Design Review (CDR) design activities. This effort will develop and deliver a TR-3 system through full flight-worthy certification and production readiness review for Lot 15. The design of TR-3 subsystems Integrated Core Processor (ICP), Aircraft Memory System (AMS), and Panoramic Cockpit Display Electronics Unit and Display Unit (PCD-EU, PCD-DU) configurations will contain new backplane technology, commercial operating systems, and modified middleware necessary to support Block 3F functionality and incorporation of all Block 4 capabilities. This work includes nonrecurring engineering for the development, test, and certification of the ICP, AMS, PCD-EU, and PCD-DU, and includes processing capacity to ensure long term viability for future capabilities. This program element may include necessary civilian pay expenses required to manage, execute, and deliver weapon system capability. The use of such program funds would be in addition to the civilian pay expenses budgeted in program element 0605827F, 0605828F, 0605829F, 0605831F, 0605832F, 0605833F, 0605898F, 0606398F. In FY 2024, $79.4M was expended for civilian pay expenses in this project element, and in FY 2025, $66.7M is forecasted for civilian pay expenses in this project element.

Mission — Air Vehicle Block 4 Planning & Sys Eng source

The F-35 Air Vehicle Program Management Office (AV PMO) development portfolio includes efforts to improve the F-35 air vehicle lethality, survivability, and interoperability in response to emerging threats outlined in the National Security Strategy and Operational Plans. The AV PMO delivers these capabilities utilizing a Continuous Capability Development and Delivery (C2D2) strategy combining traditional hardware upgrades and agile software integration processes. F-35 Block 4 Modernization is designed to counter the full spectrum of evolving near-peer enemy threats to ensure US and Allied forces have freedom of operation even in the face of advanced adversary Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) capabilities. As designed, Block 4 consists of three principle lines of effort: development of software-based capabilities, development and integration of new and modernized aircraft hardware which enable the development of new capabilities, and new weapons integration. Efforts under the Air Vehicle / Block 4 Planning and Systems Engineering project range from requirements decomposition and preliminary design of capabilities through completion of Developmental Flight Test. These activities are a continuation of the previous Block 4 developmental contracts, and include activities required to enable the successful completion of Flight Test, to include select facility upgrades required for research, development, test and evaluation. Block 4 upgraded capabilities and continuous improvements will maintain Air System viability against the evolving threats indicated in the Electronic Warfare Initial Capabilities Document (ICD), the Fifth Generation Fighter Modernization ICD, and the Block 4 Capability Development Document (CDD). Additionally, the Block 4 capabilities will reduce life cycle cost, improve Air System Integration, and improve operational suitability. Weapons integration efforts under this project deliver increased lethality, effectiveness, situational awareness and operational flexibility, and include M-code GPS compatibility, Advanced Integrated Fire Control implementation, network enabled weapons, increased Air-to-Air missile carriage, and employment envelope expansion. Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) efforts under this project will deliver increased range and effectiveness of the F-35, by providing improved interoperability across joint platforms within a highly contested environment. Included in the Air Vehicle (AV)/Block 4 Planning and Systems Engineering effort is both Prime and Government Systems Engineering Support needed for Avionics/Electronic Warfare and Weapons Integration efforts to include studies, analysis and risk reduction efforts. This program element may include necessary civilian pay expenses required to manage, execute, and deliver weapon system capability. The use of such program funds would be in addition to the civilian pay expenses budgeted in program element 0605827F, 0605828F, 0605829F, 0605831F, 0605832F, 0605833F, 0605898F, 0606398F. In FY 2024, $79.4M was expended for civilian pay expenses in this project element, and in FY 2025, $66.7M is forecasted for civilian pay expenses in this project element.

Mission — F-35 C2D2 source

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program will develop and field an affordable, highly common family of next generation strike aircraft for the United States Air Force, United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and International Partners countries. There are three variants: the F-35A Conventional Takeoff and Landing (CTOL), F-35B Short Take Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL), and the F-35C Carrier Variant (CV). Maximum commonality among the variants, consistent with National Disclosure Policy, will minimize total air system life cycle costs. Planning, systems engineering, development, and testing for Block 4 continues across the F-35 Air System to include the air vehicle, propulsion system, combat data systems, maintenance systems, and training systems as Initial Operational Capability (IOC) has been met for each variant. The JSF Continuous Capability Development & Delivery (C2D2) efforts provide incremental warfighting capability improvements to maintain joint air dominance against evolving threats. Block 4 capability requirements were initiated through ongoing Service-led operational analysis of warfighting gaps identified in the Fifth Generation Fighter Modernization Initial Capabilities Document (ICD), and through F-35 JSF Block 4 Mission Decomposition analysis completed in FY 2014. These analyses served as the basis for the Block 4 Capability Development Document (CDD), staffed through the Air Force Requirements Oversight Council (AFROC) and signed by the USAF Chief of Staff in January 2015. Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC) approved the CDD on 21 March 2017. Modernization activities in FY 2026 continue with the incremental releases of Block 4 capabilities. Block 4 efforts include a robust weapons integration portfolio and provide new opportunities for International Partners to assess, integrate, and field unique capabilities based on global sovereign requirements. The United Kingdom, Italy, Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Denmark and Norway are participants in F-35 modernization. The program shown here reflects United States Air Force funding. Foreign Military Sales are ongoing separately. This program element may include necessary civilian pay expenses required to manage, execute, and deliver weapon system capability. The use of such program funds would be in addition to the civilian pay expenses budgeted in program element 0605827F, 0605828F, 0605829F, 0605831F, 0605832F, 0605833F, 0605898F, 0606398F. In FY 2024, $79.4M was expended for civilian pay expenses in this project element, and in FY 2025, $66.7M is forecasted for civilian pay expenses in this project element. The FY 2026 request was reduced by $1.7M million for Advisory and Assistance Services to promote efficiencies and advance the policies of the Administration in alignment with Executive Order 14222, "Implementing the President's Department of Government Efficiency Cost Efficiency Initiative.” This program is in Budget Activity 7, Operational System Development because this budget activity includes development efforts to upgrade systems that have been fielded or have received approval for full rate production and anticipate production funding in the current or subsequent fiscal year.

Mission — Test and Evaluation (T&E) source

Integrated Test activities in support of C2D2, to include Lockheed Martin support at all test sites. Non-recurring engineering required to plan for the service life extension of existing DT aircraft and modifications necessary to bring DT aircraft fleet to a more production-representative and sustainable configuration, and to develop flight test instrumentation and release test software to meet Block 4 requirements. Additional upgrades required to support development and evaluation of improvements driven by changes in the threat environment and as identified in the Electronic Warfare ICD, the Fifth Generation Fighter Modernization ICD, and the Block 4 Capability Development Document (CDD). Efforts include non-recurring engineering and procurement of a test article to evaluate service life of F-35B STOVL Aircraft. Integrated test also supports the evaluation of upgrades to ALIS, fielding of ODIN Base Kits, regression testing of fielded weapons upgrades, and various validation/verification efforts. Costs in the Accomplishments/Planned and Program R2A section have been broken out into the following R-2A categories: Development Foundation Contract, Development Test, Operational Test, Future Flight Test Capabilities/Investments, and Digital Infrastructure. Updated Major Thrust title of "Ground Test and Simulation Infrastructure (GTSI)" to "Digital Infrastructure (DI)" for PB2026. This program element may include necessary civilian pay expenses required to manage, execute, and deliver weapon system capability. The use of such program funds would be in addition to the civilian pay expenses budgeted in program element 0605827F, 0605828F, 0605829F, 0605831F, 0605832F, 0605833F, 0605898F, 0606398F. In FY 2024, $79.4M was expended for civilian pay expenses in this project element, and in FY 2025, $66.7M is forecasted for civilian pay expenses in this project element.

Mission — Propulsion (PP) source

Propulsion F135 projects within the Continuous Capability Development & Delivery (C2D2) are provided for developmental efforts for propulsion systems and test engine requirements such as Block 4 Integrated Flight Test Support, Engine Flight Test Mechanics, Flight Test Engineering, Engine Hardware, Test Engine Procurements, research, component, and capability development, prototypes, various studies, costs integral to support the developmental stages for F-35 engine modernization, affordability drivers for top engine availability degraders, and improvement to support the F135 Propulsion System for the F-35 Air Vehicle. Testing and development of the three F-35 aircraft variants require engine propulsion funding to enable continued flight hours. Flight hours are budgeted and planned to meet the Block 4 Flight Test timelines and required Flight Test support. Transition of Flight Test Support requirements to organic capability includes efforts performed by contractor and government installations, Autonomic Logistics Information System / Operational Data Integrated Network (ALIS/ODIN) transition, replacement of development-only hardware, and updating Joint Technical Data (JTD) packages as required. The F-35 engine is being modernized with the F135 Engine Core Upgrade (ECU), which is part of the Engine, Power, and Thermal Management Modernization (EPM) program. The F135 ECU is projected to recapture engine life for increased affordability while providing additional power and cooling capacity to support future mission systems enhancements for the global F-35 fleet. This program element may include necessary civilian pay expenses required to manage, execute, and deliver weapon system capability. The use of such program funds would be in addition to the civilian pay expenses budgeted in program element 0605827F, 0605828F, 0605829F, 0605831F, 0605832F, 0605833F, 0605898F, 0606398F. In FY 2024, $79.4M was expended for civilian pay expenses in this project element, and in FY 2025, $66.7M is forecasted for civilian pay expenses in this project element.

Mission — Maintenance Systems (MxS) source

Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) is the current F-35 program solution for delivering core maintenance and logistics information solutions to F-35 warfighters. ALIS will continue to deliver the core logistics and maintenance infrastructure requirements for the F-35 enterprise as ALIS evolves into Operational Data Integrated Network (ODIN). ALIS includes features such as aircraft scheduling, training delivery, record keeping, technical data delivery, supply chain management, maintenance management, pilot and maintenance debriefing, and mission planning. Current ALIS development efforts are focused on low cost and high return investments that provide a high confidence return on investment in the short term, significant warfighter impact, and/or offer synergy with ODIN development efforts. ODIN will incrementally provide a modern, user-friendly integrated information system for the F-35 to deliver core maintenance and logistics information solutions. ODIN will be comprised of multiple elements to include modern hardware, architectures, software development methods, data environments, and platforms. Leveraging agile and modern software development practices, ODIN will serve as the primary logistics tool to support F-35 warfighter operations, health and diagnostics, mission planning, supply chain management, maintenance, and training. ODIN will substantially decrease F-35 administrator and maintainer workload, increase readiness rates for all F-35 variants, and allow software engineers to rapidly develop and deploy updates in response to changing warfighter requirements and improve data management, quality, and integrity. The ALIS to ODIN transition is intended to enable holistic fleet management, improve performance, enhance readiness, and reduce costs to the F-35 program. ODIN is comprised of both hardware and software which support the flow of Unclassified and Classified aircraft and maintenance-related data. This program element may include necessary civilian pay expenses required to manage, execute, and deliver weapon system capability. The use of such program funds would be in addition to the civilian pay expenses budgeted in program element 0605827F, 0605828F, 0605829F, 0605831F, 0605832F, 0605833F, 0605898F, 0606398F. In FY 2024, $79.4M was expended for civilian pay expenses in this project element, and in FY 2025, $66.7M is forecasted for civilian pay expenses in this project element.

Mission — Combat Data Systems (CDS) source

F-35 Combat Data Systems (CDS) Program Management Office mission include investment and modernization activities required for Block 4 development, integration, test and evaluation of Mission Data Hardware/Tools, Reprogramming Verification & Validation Systems (RVVS), and Mission Planning Software/Hardware, which includes the Next Generation Open Mission System (NOMS). Funding related to key deliveries to Electronic Warfare Squadrons and F-35 Operational Squadrons and enables government and contractor labor for mission planning and joint reprogramming enterprise. Other costs support Technology Investment for key Modernization / Innovation activities and Cloud based DevSecOps infrastructure. This program element may include necessary civilian pay expenses required to manage, execute, and deliver weapon system capability. The use of such program funds would be in addition to the civilian pay expenses budgeted in program element 0605827F, 0605828F, 0605829F, 0605831F, 0605832F, 0605833F, 0605898F, 0606398F. In FY 2024, $79.4M was expended for civilian pay expenses in this project element, and in FY 2025, $66.7M is forecasted for civilian pay expenses in this project element.

Mission — Training Systems & Simulation source

The F-35 Training Systems & Simulation Program Management Office (TSS PMO) development portfolio is aligned with the program's Continuous Capability Development & Delivery (C2D2) efforts and is organized in three primary lines of effort; Training System Capability Development (TSCD), Training Systems Investments (TSI) Roadmap, and Joint Simulation Environment (JSE) Development. Training System Capability Development (TSCD): Efforts will continue with a primary focus on alignment of Training System capabilities with other elements of the Air System. Specific efforts will include development of Block 4 capabilities to equivalent maturity of those in the Air Vehicle enabling release of one capability upgrade per year to the fleet, continued development of the Production Runtime Server (PRTS) - Pilot Training Device TR-3 equivalent - to enable Block 4 capabilities, continued development of Live-Virtual-Constructive (LVC) capabilities including Distributed Mission Training (DMT), and appropriate lab infrastructure to enable Training System development. Training Systems Investments (TSI) Roadmap: Development efforts will continue to focus on modernization of activities outlined in the TSS PMO roadmaps that will target the requirement of bringing higher fidelity training to the warfighter. Specific development and testing efforts focus on software architecture modernization, hardware architecture modernization, and Synthetic Threat Enhancement. Joint Simulation Environment (JSE): Development, integration and testing efforts will continue to focus on keeping F-35 In-A-Box (FIAB) software concurrent with aircraft capabilities and injecting complex threat/sensor models to establish an operationally representative simulation environment required for operational test trial validity, and the completion of Verification, Validation and Accreditation (VV&A) activities for F-35 Block 4 modernization. Efforts will include FIAB development, fidelity and capability upgrades to existing threats/sensors/weapons models, development of new threat/sensor/weapon models, and environment upgrades to enable effective verification of Block 4 capabilities. Efforts will continue toward expansion of JSE capability to F-35 Training Sites. This program element may include necessary civilian pay expenses required to manage, execute, and deliver weapon system capability. The use of such program funds would be in addition to the civilian pay expenses budgeted in program element 0605827F, 0605828F, 0605829F, 0605831F, 0605832F, 0605833F, 0605898F, 0606398F. In FY 2024, $79.4M was expended for civilian pay expenses in this project element, and in FY 2025, $66.7M is forecasted for civilian pay expenses in this project element.

Mission — Infrastructure & Support Costs source

The F-35 Joint Program Office equips U.S. and allied forces with operational F-35 weapon systems in support of military and national security operations. The acquisition and product support workforce provides cutting edge weapon systems, sustainment capabilities, and is charged with providing management, tools, and technical and business capabilities needed to oversee acquisition programs throughout their life cycle. The acquisition workforce funded in this program element will support development phases of acquisition programs to include material solution analysis, technology development, engineering and manufacturing development. This funding does not include costs for base operating support civilian personnel. This program element supports both civilian pay and non-pay support requirements. Additional infrastructure and program management support costs include travel, supplies, contractor support including advisory and assistance support, off-base lease costs, program office IT, cybersecurity, model-based systems engineering, and risk reduction studies including audit readiness and affordability initiatives directly related to C2D2 development efforts. This program element may include necessary civilian pay expenses required to manage, execute, and deliver weapon system capability. The use of such program funds would be in addition to the civilian pay expenses budgeted in program element 0605827F, 0605828F, 0605829F, 0605831F, 0605832F, 0605833F, 0605898F, 0606398F. In FY 2024, $79.4M was expended for civilian pay expenses in this project element, and in FY 2025, $66.7M is forecasted for civilian pay expenses in this project element.

Mission — DevSecOps source

The F-35 Software Development, Security & Operations (DevSecOps) Cloud platform environment allows for US Government and contracted software development teams to produce, test and deploy capabilities for F-35 supported Project Management Offices (PMO) and Directorates. This includes providing support to the Combat Data Systems (CDS), Air Vehicle (AV), Maintenance Systems (MxSYS), Propulsion, Training Systems and Simulation (TSS) PMOs, and Directorate of Engineering. The mission of DevSecOps is to provide a centralized F-35 Data repository, a consolidated F-35 software development environment, and support for system development lifecycle (SDLC) of the F-35 platform, allowing for rapid release cycles to keep the F-35 ahead of its adversaries. Investment in, and modernization of, DevSecOps include efforts to support F-35 Software modernization efforts, develop organic government software capabilities, support SDLC and flight testing capabilities, enhance the security posture of the software development pipeline, and support goals of reducing long-term on-premise infrastructure environments cost, ultimately resulting in reducing fleet delivery timelines. This program element may include necessary civilian pay expenses required to manage, execute, and deliver weapon system capability. The use of such program funds would be in addition to the civilian pay expenses budgeted in program element 0605827F, 0605828F, 0605829F, 0605831F, 0605832F, 0605833F, 0605898F, 0606398F. In FY 2024, $79.4M was expended for civilian pay expenses in this project element, and in FY 2025, $66.7M is forecasted for civilian pay expenses in this project element.

Mission — Utility and Subsystem Support to Mission Systems source

The Power Thermal Management Upgrade (PTMU) program will provide the required power and cooling upgrade to the current F-35 thermal management system to meet the estimates for a 5th Generation F-35 fighter. During development, air vehicle cooling requirements grew to exceed planned bleed air extraction. To provide the necessary bleed air, the engine was required to run hotter, and early engineering assessments indicate that this increase in operating temperature decreases engine life, resulting in earlier depot inductions and an increase in life cycle cost. Future capabilities and mission systems will be limited by PTMS cooling capacity. With threats continuing to develop, the F-35 requires new mission systems to out pace the emerging threats to remain relevant and lethal. This upgrade will consist of modifications to the current Power Thermal Management System (PTMS), Fuel Thermal Management System (FTMS), and Electrical Power System (EPS). This work includes nonrecurring engineering for the development, test, and certification of the upgraded PTMS, FTMS, and EPS systems to ensure suitable cooling is available for future capacities. This program element may include necessary civilian pay expenses required to manage, execute, and deliver weapon system capability. The use of such program funds would be in addition to the civilian pay expenses budgeted in program element 0605827F, 0605828F, 0605829F, 0605831F, 0605832F, 0605833F, 0605898F, 0606398F. In FY 2024, $79.4M was expended for civilian pay expenses in this project element, and in FY 2025, $66.7M is forecasted for civilian pay expenses in this project element.

Mission — Information Operations Technology source

Procure Microsoft 365 Enterprise Licensing Upgrades for Improved Zero Trust (ZT) Capabilities. This program element may include necessary civilian pay expenses required to manage, execute, and deliver weapon system capability. The use of such program funds would be in addition to the civilian pay expenses budgeted in program element 0605827F, 0605828F, 0605829F, 0605831F, 0605832F, 0605833F, 0605898F, 0606398F. In FY 2024, $79.4M was expended for civilian pay expenses in this project element, and in FY 2025, $66.7M is forecasted for civilian pay expenses in this project element.

Accomplishments & Planned Programs (19)