On Jan. 6, history was made as the first flight of an F-35 in the Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) configuration was successfully conducted by a developmental test team from the 461st Flight Test Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base in California. This marks a significant achievement for the F-35 program and is a crucial step in ensuring the aircraft remains unrivaled across the globe.
Photo: F-35 Joint Program Office
The TR-3 program provides the computational horsepower to support modernized Block 4 capabilities for the F-35, including new sensor suites, more long-range precision weapons, improved electronic warfare features, more powerful data fusion, and increased cross-platform interoperability.
Maj. Ryan “BOLO” Luersen, a U.S. Air Force experimental test pilot, piloted the mission in tail number #AF-7, a specially instrumented flight test aircraft and the first with TR-3 upgrades installed. He executed a functional check flight (FCF) profile to verify aircraft airworthiness and system stability. The 50-minute flight, which took the jet to 35,000 feet at speeds below Mach 1 above the Mojave Desert, marked the start of an extensive flight test campaign that will continue through 2023 to ensure safety and prove warfighting capabilities.
The TR-3 program has overcome technical complexity challenges with hardware and software, and is now on-track to deliver capability to the U.S. and its allies starting in 2023. TR-3 significantly updates the core processing power and memory capacity of the F-35, which allows it to run advanced software packed with state-of-the-art warfighting capabilities.
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