F-35 Squadrons

Abstract

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program will develop and field an affordable, highly common family of next generation strike aircraft for the United States Air Force (USAF), United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and International Partners countries. There are three variants: the F-35A Conventional Takeoff and Landing (CTOL) variant; the F-35B Short Take Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) variant; and the F-35C Carrier Variant (CV). Maximum commonality among the variants, consistent with National Disclosure Policy, will minimize total air system life cycle costs. PE 0207142F funding supports USAF-unique on-going User Information Data Exchange Service (UIDES), SEEK EAGLE, Quick Reaction Instrumentation Package (QRIP), Joint Simulation Environment/Virtual Test and Training Center (JSE/VTTC), Hybrid Product Support Integrator (HPSI), and Dual Capable Aircraft (DCA) requirements. These continuing efforts are not new starts. The F-35A UIDES effort develops a system that supports Information Exchange Requirement (IER) data transfer. UIDES allows F-35 operations, maintenance, training, and financial data to be integrated within existing Air Force enterprise systems. The Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) UIDES will transition to an Operational Data Integrated Network (ODIN) effort. The Air Force SEEK EAGLE Office (AFSEO) delivers warfighting capability through aircraft/store compatibility testing and evaluation while providing accurate combat weapon delivery and mission planning software. Beginning in FY2020, the USAF supported Flight Test Instrumentation (FTI) wiring and weapons integration tasks related to SEEK EAGLE requests. These tasks include, but are not limited to, envelope expansion, mixed loads testing, adding additional stores, and F-35A specific risk reduction efforts and studies. The QRIP system is a government off-the-shelf solution from the 59th Test and Evaluation Squadron (59 TES) for F-35A high-capacity data recording needs. Designed for operational test and evaluation, the system can serve multiple emerging needs for data collection. By capturing crowd sourced flight data (CSFD) from operational aircraft, QRIP reduces the need for deliberate regression flight testing and allows the test enterprise to focus on Block 4 and future capability development. In FY2025, the 59 TES will produce/install 25 QRIP data recording devices on F-35A aircraft and continue with approximately 25 QRIP devices annually thereafter. Also in FY2025, the Knowledge Management (KM) system for data processing and storage will be deployed at Eielson AFB and RAF Lakenheath. A team of sixteen contractors at each base are required to sustain QRIP associated hardware and software. Cost share funding for this effort is in PE0604840F while the F-35A USAF-unique costs are located in this PE. The F-35 HPSI's primary role is to integrate support across the supply chain, maintenance, sustainment engineering, logistics information technology and training disciplines. It will deliver enduring, global support for fielded F-35s while preparing for future force expansion. USAF funding supports additional Program Management Activities (PMA) to transition to a final HPSI, which will support sustainment analysis with product support managers, focused on long-term strategic planning, and transition to a final integrated support plan. Funding eliminated in FY2024 and beyond due to the completion of transitioning personnel to the HPSI organization at Wright-Patterson AFB, OH. The F-35 JSF Operational Requirements Document (ORD) calls for the F-35A to have the capabilities and provisions for DCA operations in the first post-System Development and Demonstration (SDD) block upgrade. DCA is a NATO and US priority which is a critical capability in our collective defense and credible deterrence. The USAF F-35A achieved operational certification on October 12, 2023, earlier than the need date of January 2024. DCA refers to the capability to carry and deliver conventional and non-conventional weapons. DCA operations for the F-35A is internal carriage of up to two B61-12s. Due to extensive certification requirements, the DCA capability planning and design, testing and certification will continue throughout Block 4. Funding in this PE will resource the following F-35A DCA activities: development, analysis, test, integration, certification and risk-reduction activities necessary to field and maintain F-35A DCA capabilities throughout post-SDD block upgrades; assessment of DCA weapon integration and certification impacts on the F-35 aircraft; identification and mitigation of potential technical and cost risks; definition of integration and certification trade-space to field the DCA capability with the B61-12 weapon; follow-on risk reduction efforts to ensure future integration alignment with the earliest feasible post-SDD block upgrade; and full integration efforts pending Service decisions. This program element may include necessary civilian pay expenses required to manage, execute, and deliver weapon system capability. The use of such programs funds would be in addition to the civilian pay expenses budgeted in program element 0605827F, 0605828F, 0605829F, 0605831F, 0605832F, 0605833F, 0605898F, 0606398F. In FY2023 $3.4M was expended for civilian pay expenses in this program element, and in FY2024 $3.4M is forecasted for civilian pay expenses in this program element. This program is in Budget Activity 7, Operational System Development because this budget activity includes development efforts to upgrade systems that have been fielded or have received approval for full rate production and anticipate production funding in the current or subsequent fiscal year.

Document Details

• Document Type: R2 Budgetary Justification
• Publication Date: Oct 01, 2025
• Source ID: 0207142F_7_3600_PB_2025
• Change Summary Explanation: FY2023 funding reduced by $5M due to reprogramming to PE 0207179F, Autonomous Collaborative Platforms, Project 647123: Autonomous Collaborative Technologies. FY2025 funding reduced due to transfer of JSE/VTTC funding to PE 0207606F, Joint Simulation Environment, Project 642407: Joint Simulation Environment
• Service Agency Name: Air Force

Entities

Organizations

• United States Air Force

Tags

Readers

• Civilian Systems Systems Program Capability Development and Upgrade Support Activity Expense and Pay Management.
• Naval Engineering and Maritime Security

Technology Areas

• Space