{"id":3098937,"date":"2026-06-28T16:18:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T14:18:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/marines-f-35b-ballast-no-radar-apg-85-delay-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-06-28T16:18:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T14:18:31","slug":"marines-f-35b-ballast-no-radar-apg-85-delay-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/marines-f-35b-ballast-no-radar-apg-85-delay-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Marines Take Six F-35s With No Radar"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\n\n<p>The most expensive fighter program in history just handed the U.S. Marine Corps six brand-new stealth jets that cannot see. In place of their radar, each F-35B carries a chunk of dead weight bolted into the nose to keep the jet balanced. The Marines accepted them anyway.<\/p>\n<p>It sounds like a punchline. It is not. The new radar these aircraft were built around is running years late, the older radar physically does not fit, and Lockheed Martin's production line is the largest in the fighter world &mdash; you do not simply switch it off and wait. So the jets roll out, weighted nose-down by ballast, and the radars get retrofitted whenever they finally arrive.<\/p>\n<p>And the Marines are only first in line. The Air Force and the Navy are expected to start signing for radar-less F-35s of their own before the year is out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"background:#f4f4f4;border-radius:8px;padding:20px 24px;margin:8px 0 28px\">\n<p style=\"margin:0 0 12px;font-weight:700;font-size:18px;color:#222\">Quick Facts<\/p>\n<ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:20px;line-height:1.8;color:#333\">\n<li><strong>What happened:<\/strong> The U.S. Marine Corps has accepted six F-35B jets without their radars installed<\/li>\n<li><strong>The fix:<\/strong> Ballast (weights) bolted into the nose to keep the center of gravity correct<\/li>\n<li><strong>Why:<\/strong> The new, improved AN\/APG-85 radar is delayed; the old AN\/APG-81 does not fit the redesigned nose bulkhead<\/li>\n<li><strong>Who is to blame:<\/strong> The radar is government-furnished &mdash; the delay sits with Northrop Grumman, not Lockheed Martin<\/li>\n<li><strong>What they can do:<\/strong> Basic flight training only &mdash; no combat training, no missions<\/li>\n<li><strong>Who's next:<\/strong> The Air Force and Navy are expected to take radar-less jets later in 2026<\/li>\n<li><strong>Radar arrival:<\/strong> First production AN\/APG-85 units now projected no sooner than 2028<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">A stealth fighter with a paperweight where its eyes should be<\/h2>\n<p>Strip away the jargon and the situation is almost comic. The AN\/APG-85 active electronically scanned array radar is the sensor that turns the F-35 from a fast jet into a flying battle-manager &mdash; it finds targets, builds the picture, cues the missiles. Pull it out and you are left with a very expensive, very stealthy trainer.<\/p>\n<p>That is exactly what the Marines have on their hands. The six F-35Bs entered acceptance testing in February 2026 and are cleared for basic flight training and not much else. No combat training. No operational missions. Just keeping pilots current while everyone waits on a radar.<\/p>\n<p>To keep the jets safe to fly without the radar's mass in the nose, technicians install ballast &mdash; literal weights &mdash; to hold the center of gravity where the flight-control computers expect it. A fifth-generation fighter, balanced by what amounts to a fancy brick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px\"><img data-opt-id=97092127  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/usmc-f-35b-vmfa-231-cherry-point-harrier.jpg\" alt=\"A USMC F-35B of VMFA-231 taxis behind AV-8B Harriers at MCAS Cherry Point\" style=\"display:block;width:100%;height:auto;border-radius:6px\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">A Marine F-35B of VMFA-231 taxis past the Harriers it is replacing at MCAS Cherry Point, June 2026. The newest jets off the line are arriving without their radars. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Bryan Giraldo \/ DVIDS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">So why not just bolt in the old radar?<\/h2>\n<p>Reasonable question. The previous-generation AN\/APG-81 has worked beautifully on F-35s for years. The problem is mechanical, not electronic. Starting with Lot 17 aircraft, the jets are built with a redesigned nose bulkhead and mounting arrangement tailored to the bigger, more capable APG-85.<\/p>\n<p>That new mounting will not take the old radar without major structural surgery on a brand-new airframe &mdash; which nobody wants to do. The two radars are simply not interchangeable. So the choice came down to this: park finished jets indefinitely, or deliver them now, fly them lightly, and slot the radars in later. The program chose the latter.<\/p>\n<p>There is a contractual wrinkle too. The radar is government-furnished equipment, bought separately by the Pentagon, which means the schedule slip lands on radar-maker Northrop Grumman &mdash; not on Lockheed Martin, which built perfectly good aircraft on time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;The Department of War deliberately undertook a highly concurrent development and production program for Block 4 capabilities and the largest fighter aircraft production line in the world.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>U.S. Marine Corps spokesman<\/strong> &mdash; F-35 Joint Program Office statement, June 2026<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">&ldquo;Concurrency&rdquo; comes home to roost<\/h2>\n<p>That statement is bureaucratic armor, but it is also an admission. &ldquo;Concurrency&rdquo; means building and upgrading the aircraft at the same time, betting that the new tech will be ready when the jets are. It is the F-35 program's oldest gamble &mdash; and here it has produced finished fighters that arrived ahead of the capability they were designed to carry.<\/p>\n<p>On June 23, the F-35 Joint Program Office director, Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Gregory Masiello, told the Senate Armed Services Committee's Airland Subcommittee that the six Marine F-35Bs are the only aircraft delivered without radars so far. The key word is <em>so far<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px\"><img data-opt-id=2009897031  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/usmc-f-35b-vmfa-542-red-flag-alaska-2026.jpg\" alt=\"A USMC F-35B of VMFA-542 at Eielson AFB during Red Flag-Alaska 26-1\" style=\"display:block;width:100%;height:auto;border-radius:6px\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">A Marine F-35B of VMFA-542 at Eielson Air Force Base during Red Flag-Alaska 26-1, April 2026. Fully-equipped jets like this one fly the missions the radar-less six cannot. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Bryan Giraldo \/ DVIDS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The Air Force and Navy are next &mdash; and the clock runs to 2028<\/h2>\n<p>If the radar deliveries stay slow, the Air Force and Navy are expected to start accepting their own radar-less F-35s later in 2026. The Air Force had not taken one in this configuration as of the June hearing, but officials have signaled it is coming.<\/p>\n<p>The deeper number is the timeline. The first production lot of the AN\/APG-85 is now projected to arrive no sooner than 2028. Until then, every ballast-fitted jet is a placeholder &mdash; a stealth airframe waiting on the sensor that makes it a weapon. The aircraft are not broken. They are unfinished, and the missing piece is years out.<\/p>\n<p>It is a strange image to end on: some of the most advanced fighters ever built, sitting on the ramp, perfectly capable of flying and utterly unable to fight, balanced by a weight where their radar should be. The Marines took them anyway. Given the alternative &mdash; an idle production line and empty squadrons &mdash; they did not have much choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-style:italic;color:#777;font-size:14px;margin-top:8px\">Sources: Air &amp; Space Forces Magazine; Aviation Week; The War Zone (TWZ); Breaking Defense; testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee Airland Subcommittee, 23 June 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n<!-- mf-faq -->\n\n<div class=\"mf-faq-block\"><style>.mf-faq-block{margin:34px 0}.mf-faq-item:not([open]) .mf-faq-answer{display:none !important}.mf-faq-block h2.mf-faq-h{padding-top:22px;margin-bottom:14px}.mf-faq-item{border:1px solid #e2e8f5;border-radius:8px;margin:0 0 10px;background:#fff}.mf-faq-item summary{list-style:none;cursor:pointer;padding:15px 50px 15px 18px;font-weight:600;color:#1a1a1a;position:relative;line-height:1.45;user-select:none}.mf-faq-item summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mf-faq-item summary::after{content:\"+\";position:absolute;right:18px;top:50%;transform:translateY(-50%);font-size:1.5em;font-weight:400;color:#5C91FF;line-height:1}.mf-faq-item[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mf-faq-item[open] summary{border-bottom:1px solid #eef1f8}.mf-faq-item summary:hover{background:#f5f8ff}.mf-faq-answer{padding:14px 18px;color:#333;line-height:1.6}.mf-faq-answer p{margin:0}<\/style><h2 class=\"mf-faq-h\">Related Questions<\/h2><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>Why did the Marine Corps accept F-35s without radars?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>The Marine Corps accepted six F-35B jets without radars because the new AN\/APG-85 radar they were designed around is delayed, and the older AN\/APG-81 radar does not fit the redesigned nose. Rather than park finished aircraft and idle the production line, the program delivered the jets with ballast in the nose and plans to retrofit the radars once they are available.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>What is ballast in an F-35 and why is it there?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>Ballast is dead weight bolted into the nose of the F-35 in place of the missing radar. The radar is a heavy component, so without it the jet would be out of balance. The ballast restores the center of gravity the flight-control system expects, allowing the aircraft to fly safely until the real radar is installed.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>What is the AN\/APG-85 radar?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>The AN\/APG-85 is the F-35\u2019s next-generation active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, built by Northrop Grumman as part of the Block 4 modernization. It is more capable than the current AN\/APG-81 but requires a redesigned nose bulkhead, which is why the two radars are not interchangeable. Its first production lot is now expected no sooner than 2028.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>Can a radar-less F-35 still fight?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>No. An F-35 without its radar is limited to basic flight training. It cannot conduct combat training or operational missions because the radar is what finds targets, builds the situational picture, and cues weapons. The radar-less jets keep pilots current but have no combat capability until they are retrofitted.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>Whose fault is the F-35 radar delay?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>The AN\/APG-85 radar is government-furnished equipment purchased separately by the Pentagon, so the schedule delay falls on radar-maker Northrop Grumman rather than on Lockheed Martin, which built the airframes on time. The aircraft are complete; the missing piece is the sensor.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>Will the Air Force and Navy also get F-35s without radars?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>Yes. As of June 2026 the six Marine Corps F-35Bs were the only aircraft delivered without radars, but the Air Force and Navy are expected to begin accepting radar-less F-35s later in 2026 if the AN\/APG-85 deliveries remain delayed.<\/p><\/div><\/details><\/div>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Why did the Marine Corps accept F-35s without radars?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The Marine Corps accepted six F-35B jets without radars because the new AN\/APG-85 radar they were designed around is delayed, and the older AN\/APG-81 radar does not fit the redesigned nose. Rather than park finished aircraft and idle the production line, the program delivered the jets with ballast in the nose and plans to retrofit the radars once they are available.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What is ballast in an F-35 and why is it there?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Ballast is dead weight bolted into the nose of the F-35 in place of the missing radar. The radar is a heavy component, so without it the jet would be out of balance. The ballast restores the center of gravity the flight-control system expects, allowing the aircraft to fly safely until the real radar is installed.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What is the AN\/APG-85 radar?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The AN\/APG-85 is the F-35\u2019s next-generation active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, built by Northrop Grumman as part of the Block 4 modernization. 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As of June 2026 the six Marine Corps F-35Bs were the only aircraft delivered without radars, but the Air Force and Navy are expected to begin accepting radar-less F-35s later in 2026 if the AN\/APG-85 deliveries remain delayed.\"}}]}<\/script><!-- \/mf-faq -->\n\n\n<div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0\">\n<p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/joint-strike-missile-jsm-f-35-lot-2-2026\/\">A Ship-Killer That Fits Inside the F-35<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The most expensive fighter program in history just handed the U.S. Marine Corps six brand-new stealth jets that cannot see. In place of their radar, each F-35B carries a chunk of dead weight bolted into the nose to keep the jet balanced. The Marines accepted them anyway. It sounds like a punchline. It is not. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":3098776,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[664,670],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3098937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military-aviation","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Marines Take Six F-35s With No Radar Installed<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Marine Corps accepted six F-35Bs with ballast in the nose instead of the delayed AN\/APG-85 radar. 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