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  "path": "/2026/02/lockheed-martin-delivered-f-35s-without.html",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-15T02:04:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://justacarguy.blogspot.com",
  "tags": [
    "https://militarnyi.com/en/news/lockheed-martin-delivers-f-35-without-an-apg-85-due-to-delays/",
    "https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/02/why-the-f-35s-new-super-radar-is-forcing-the-air-force-to-use-20-year-old-tech/"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAs development and testing of the APG-85 are delayed by cooling and power-consumption challenges, new fighters are rolling off the assembly line with empty nose pods.\n\n\n\n\nTo maintain aerodynamic balance and flight characteristics, ballast is installed in the aircraft’s nose.\n\n\n\n\n The AN/APG-85 is an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar system designed by Northrop Grumman for the Lockheed Martin F-35\n\n\n\n\nhttps://militarnyi.com/en/news/lockheed-martin-delivers-f-35-without-an-apg-85-due-to-delays/\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAs of February 13, 2026, the U.S. Air Force has officially denied reports that it received F-35 fighters with “empty radomes.”\n\n-Instead, the USAF clarified that Lot 17 aircraft are currently delivering with the older AN/APG-81 radar sets\n\n\n\n\nHowever, I read online that those do NOT fit in the F35 radome\n\n\n\n\n-These setbacks contribute to the F-35’s ballooning lifecycle cost, now estimated at a staggering $2.1 trillion through the 2070s.\n\n\n\n\nhttps://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/02/why-the-f-35s-new-super-radar-is-forcing-the-air-force-to-use-20-year-old-tech/",
  "title": "Lockheed Martin delivered F-35s without AN/APG-85 (a radar) due to delays,  instead, ballast is being installed in the nose cones.",
  "updatedAt": "2026-02-15T02:04:57.058Z"
}