I Hope F-35s Don’t Need Radar—Because the Marines Just Took Delivery of Six Without Any

The U.S. Marine Corps has officially confirmed it has accepted delivery of six brand-new Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II stealth fighters—only to discover none of them are equipped with radars. The jets are part of the upgraded Block 4 variant, which is supposed to feature the most advanced systems ever fitted to a fighter, including a cutting-edge new radar. The problem? That radar, the AN/APG-85, isn’t expected to be ready for another two years. So Lockheed Martin delivered the planes anyway, leaving the Marines with aircraft that are effectively blind in the skies.

The issue stems from a design quirk: the F-35’s nose is engineered exclusively for the new AN/APG-85 radar, making it incompatible with older systems like the AN/APG-81. That means every Block 4 F-35 is stuck in limbo until the new radar is finalized—no quick fix, no temporary workaround. Instead of radar, the jets are carrying ballast to balance the nose, since the aircraft would otherwise be too light to fly properly. The Pentagon insists these radar-less jets aren’t completely useless. They can still be used for flight training, filling a role already carved out for a portion of the F-35 fleet. There’s also a workaround for missions: the F-35’s networking capability allows it to receive targeting and situational data from other aircraft, effectively letting a radar-less jet act as a weapons platform guided by a nearby plane with sensors.

It’s not full mission capability, but it’s a stopgap in a pinch. Beyond training, the Block 4 jets could play a role in testing collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) drones—mini-fighter drones controlled by pilots in manned jets like the F-35. The Pentagon has already run trials pairing F-35s with CCAs, and if these drones enter service before the new radars are ready, the radar-less Block 4s could see frontline use in that capacity. The delivery of these jets highlights a broader challenge: the F-35 program is under immense pressure to keep production lines running. A two-year halt would risk losing skilled workers and disrupting a massive backlog of orders from U.S. military branches and allied nations. So, despite the glaring absence of radar, the jets will keep rolling off the assembly line, and taxpayers will keep footing the bill—even if the planes can’t see a thing.

At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing last week, Marine Corps officials confirmed the deliveries, marking the first official acknowledgment of the issue, which has been rumored for months.