Marines Have 6 F-35s Without Radars; USAF Will Get Some Too

Overview

The F-35 Joint Program Office is accepting delivery of F-35 aircraft without radars because of delays in the AN/APG-85 radar system from Northrop Grumman. Six Marine Corps F-35Bs have already been delivered with ballast in place of operational radars, and Air Force and Navy variants are expected to follow later this year. This is a significant program-management and supply-chain disruption within the F-35 program that affects multiple service branches and prime/subcontractor delivery schedules. There are direct implications for contract performance and risk allocation for prime contractor Lockheed Martin and subcontractor Northrop Grumman. Contractors with exposure to aircraft production, radar systems, or related supply chains should treat this as a shifting opportunity and risk picture and act now to reassess capture, performance, and compliance posture. See the Winning Federal Contracts Guide for capture best practices and the CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification) Compliance Guide and CUI (Controlled Unclassified Information)-Safe CRM Guide for compliance preparation.

Immediate Actions (This Week)

• [ ] Notify your capture and contracts teams about the deliveries- without-radars event and convene a rapid-risk triage meeting.
• [ ] Review active subcontract or prime contract flowdowns for delivery terms, acceptance criteria, and remedies that could be implicated by radar-delivery delays; identify affected contracts for remediation planning.
• [ ] Map your supply-chain exposure to radar hardware, avionics, and related electronic components and flag single-source suppliers tied to the AN/APG-85 or equivalent lines of supply.
• [ ] Conduct a preliminary export-control / technical data review for any affected workstreams referenced by ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations), EAR, or other controls listed in your Tags.
• [ ] Monitor official communications from the F-35 Joint Program Office and affected services for follow-on guidance and contract amendments; subscribe to official feeds and notices.

Short-Term Actions (30 Days)

• [ ] Perform a focused supplier and subcontractor capability assessment and affordability check for alternatives or mitigation actions (spares, retrofit plans, accelerated production).
• [ ] Prepare a capture/briefing package (bid/no-bid analysis, risk matrix, opportunity impacts) that incorporates supply-chain disruption scenarios and likely contract vehicle effects.
• [ ] Validate and update past performance entries and technical narratives that use F-35 or radar-related work so proposals reflect current delivery realities.
• [ ] Begin drafting technical approach addenda describing retrofit/installation plans, logistics support, and schedule reconciliation for delivering aircraft to specification once radars are available.

Long-Term Actions (90+ Days)

• [ ] Develop and implement supplier diversification and second-source plans for critical radar and avionics components to reduce single-point-of-failure risk.
• [ ] Update contract management playbooks to include surge/retrofit execution templates, change-order negotiations, and evidence packages for contract claims or equitable adjustments.
• [ ] Invest in compliance maturity (export controls, DFARS (Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement) flowdowns, CMMC/NIST mapping) for teams supporting aviation and defense-electronics work to accelerate future bid responsiveness.
• [ ] Track program-level remedial actions announced by the F-35 Joint Program Office and be ready to file for equitable adjustments or propose value-added engineering solutions if opportunities arise.

Compliance Checklist

• [ ] ITAR — review technical data and transfer risk; ensure export licensing and ITAR controls cover any radar/avionics transfers or foreign-person involvement.
• [ ] EAR — classify affected hardware and software for Commerce control and ensure licensing for controlled items as required.
• [ ] DFARS — confirm DFARS flowdowns apply on affected contracts and validate compliance obligations in contract language.
• [ ] CMMC — assess CMMC readiness for teams handling controlled unclassified information tied to aircraft and radar programs.
• [ ] NIST 800-171 (NIST Special Publication 800-171) — verify implementation of required controls for protection of controlled unclassified information in affected programs.

Resources

• DOD official site: https://www.defense.gov
• Department of the Navy official site: https://www.navy.mil
• United States Marine Corps official site: https://www.marines.mil
• Department of the Air Force official site: https://www.af.mil
• F-35 Joint Program Office official site: https://www.f35.com
• DFARS (official text): https://www.acquisition.gov/dfars
• NIST SP 800-171 (NIST Special Publication 800-171) (official text): https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/sp/800-171/rev-2/final
• CMMC (official guidance): https://www.cmmcab.org
• ITAR information (DDTC): https://www.pmddtc.state.gov
• EAR (Bureau of Industry and Security): https://www.bis.doc.gov

Also see: Winning Federal Contracts Guide (/insights/winning-federal-contracts), CMMC Compliance Guide (/insights/cmmc-compliance-guide), CUI-Safe CRM Guide (/insights/cui-safe-crm-guide).

How Cabrillo Club Automates This

Cabrillo Signals War Room — Already detected this event and delivered this briefing within minutes. War Room continuously monitors official communications, program-level announcements, and supply-chain intelligence across federal sources so your capture and contracts teams receive an immediate alert when program disruptions like radar delays are reported. It centralizes source documents and flags affected agencies and program names for rapid review.

Cabrillo Signals Match Engine — When an event like this shifts program risk and opportunity profiles, the Match Engine automatically rescopes and rescoring your opportunity pipeline. It updates match scores, keyword relevance, and agency alignment in real time so capture managers see which active IDIQs and production slots become higher- or lower-priority given radar-delivery disruptions.

Cabrillo Signals Intelligence Hub — Intelligence Hub tracks affected agencies, NAICS codes, and contract vehicles referenced in this event and can be configured with saved searches that alert you when follow-on solicitations, contract modifications, or guidance from the F-35 Joint Program Office appear on SAM.gov (System for Award Management) or other sources. Use the saved search and watchlist features to maintain a single source of truth for downstream opportunities and amendments.

Proposal Studio (Proposal OS) — Proposal Studio generates first-draft technical approaches, compliance matrices, and POAMs tailored to supply-chain disruption scenarios by drawing on your past performance library. It accelerates bid/no-bid decisions by quantifying risk and producing draft language for retrofit plans, logistics support, and equitable adjustment requests informed by this event.

Proposal Studio Workflow Tracker — The Workflow Tracker maps a 9-gate capture process and automatically routes contract, legal, and supply-chain reviews when program events change risk posture. It tracks supplier certifications, collects audit-ready documentation, and timestamps approvals so you can demonstrate diligence in contract modifications and claims.

Explore these features in your Cabrillo Club workspace to convert this event into monitored risk mitigation and capture advantage.

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