United States Begins $1 B Electronic Warfare Upgrade for F‑35 Fighter Jets

The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded Lockheed Martin a contract worth $991.1 million to produce and deliver 432 electronic‑warfare retrofit kits for F‑35 Lightning II aircraft. The kits will be installed on 97 Air Force jets, 54 Marine Corps jets, 42 Navy jets, 106 aircraft for foreign‑military‑sales customers and 133 for non‑U.S. partner nations participating in the Joint Strike Fighter program.

The upgrades are part of the Block 4 modernization effort, which adds more than 70 enhancements across all three F‑35 variants, including increased missile carriage, advanced electronic‑warfare capabilities, improved target recognition, upgraded sensor‑fusion and survivability features. The aircraft’s existing AN/ASQ‑239 EW suite, supplied by BAE Systems, will be improved to provide 360‑degree situational awareness in highly contested environments. The retrofit programme is slated to run through March 2032 and comes amid heightened tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and recent Iranian claims of engagement with U.S. F‑35s.