The addition of British and Italian munitions to the F-35 will make it more interoperable with other NATO air forces—and could increase sales as well.

The most advanced fighter jet in the US military and NATO will soon be able to carry additional weapon systems. 

The US Navy awarded Lockheed Martin a $74.2 million contract modification to allow F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter jets to carry a variety of new British and Italian weapon systems—intended to make the jets more easily adaptable into the air forces of America’s European allies.

The F-35 Is Getting New Weapons

Under the contract, Lockheed Martin will work to integrate British and Italian weapon systems into the F-35A and F-35B Lightning II fighter jets as part of the Block 4 upgrade currently under development.

Although the contract award does not specify which munitions will become compatible with the Block 4 upgrade, the UK and Italy have been testing MBDA’s Meteor long-range air-to-air missile and SPEAR 3 air-to-surface cruise missile on the F-35. 

The UK’s Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Navy have expressed a desire for 138 F-35A and F-35B fighter jets. The Italian Air Force and Italian Navy have ordered 75 F-35As and 40 F-35Bs. 

“This modification definitizes four contract line items to provide [the] United Kingdom and Italy [with] unique weapons systems integration through system functional review to development test complete on the F-35A and F-35B aircraft in support of continued development of critical F-35 Block Four warfighting capabilities for the Joint Strike Fighter program,” the Department of Defense stated in the award. 

Work under the contract is expected to be finished by December 2032. 

The F-35 is a fifth-generation multirole stealth fighter jet. Its latest upgrade package, the “Block 4,” is “the most ambitious upgrade to the F-35 yet,” according to Lockheed Martin. The aim behind the upgrade is to ensure that the F-35 is still competitive in the skies, even as adversaries roll out increasingly dangerous air defense and air threats.

Block 4 F-35 fighter jets will be able to carry more missiles and more advanced munitions and pack advanced non-kinetic electronic warfare capabilities to counter incoming missiles, as well as neutralize adversary electronic warfare functions. Moreover, the new aircraft will have improved sensors, such as the AN/APG-85 radar, and improved target recognition capabilities, further increasing the speed of the kill chain.

Even so, the Block 4 upgrade is not without controversy. Initially, Lockheed Martin expected the upgrade to be operational by 2026, later pushing the expected completion date back to 2029. However, current assessments have put the rollout date even later, to 2031 at the earliest. This five-year delay—if Lockheed Martin can keep that—and increased costs have somewhat soured the Block 4 upgrade’s image.

The F-35 Program Is Spread Across Many Nations

The US defense industrial base has historically been split between many different states, rather than remaining in any one region of the country. There are obvious benefits to this diversification, but cynics have suggested that there is a political aspect to it as well: if every state makes parts for a certain aircraft, it gives every state (and its elected officials) an incentive to keep the aircraft funded, even if it faces production delays or its effectiveness is questioned.

For the F-35, this principle has gone global. The Joint Strike Fighter is truly an international program, with many active participants among America’s allies. More than 50 percent of the work for the recent contract will take place in Samlesbury in the United Kingdom, while the rest will be completed in five different US states.

Overall, 20 countries are participating in the F-35 program, with over 3,000 orders for the F-35’s three variants. The US military (Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps) is the largest customer. Lockheed Martin has delivered more than 1,335 stealth fighter jets as of June, while the global F-35 fleet has accrued over 1 million flight hours and a considerable number of combat sorties.

About the Author: Stavros Atlamazoglou

Stavros Atlamazoglouis a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operationsand a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University, an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and a JD from Boston College Law School. His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.

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