Reports suggest some F‑35A jets built since mid‑2025 may be delivered without their radars installed

 

Several defense-focused outlets have reported that F‑35A aircraft built since mid‑2025 may have been delivered to the U.S. Air Force without their radars installed, due to delays in developing the next-generation AN/APG‑85 radar under the Block 4 modernization program. In some cases, ballast weights have reportedly been placed in the nose to maintain balance during flight.

According to these reports, the affected aircraft are US-service jets configured for the future AN/APG‑85, not export models equipped with the existing AN/APG‑81 radar. While neither the USAF nor the F‑35 Joint Program Office has officially confirmed radar-less deliveries, statements note that the aircraft are built to accommodate the advanced radar once it becomes available.

Radar-less jets have reportedly flown or been accepted into inventory using added nose ballast and relying on networked data sharing from radar-equipped wingmen. This configuration is technically feasible for training and support flights, though it would significantly limit independent combat capability in high-intensity scenarios.

Delays in APG‑85 development and Block 4 updates are well documented, with known integration challenges compared to original schedules and multiple defense news and industry sources have reported technical incompatibilities between the APG‑81 and the new radar, providing context for why interim deliveries might occur.

However, no official confirmation from the Pentagon, USAF, Lockheed Martin, or Northrop Grumman exists that radar-less aircraft are being accepted as standard.

The most likely scenario is that these aircraft are delivered with radar installation deferred, not permanently removed. This mirrors past F‑35 practices, where aircraft were sometimes accepted with incomplete mission systems pending later retrofits.

F‑35s may indeed be arriving at U.S. units without their next-gen radars, but the jets are not “blind” in operational terms—they are placeholders awaiting full sensor integration, capable of limited networked operations until the AN/APG‑85 is installed.