At this week’s Paris Air Show, the largest and most prestigious aerospace event in the world, Lockheed Martin indicated it will soon unveil F-35 Block 4 capabilities, claiming it will be “the most aggressive upgrade in any fighter in history.”

“We must bring Block 4 in, because we know that the threat continues to evolve, and we have to stay ahead of it,” JR McDonald, vice president of business development for the F-35 program at Lockheed Martin, told reporters in a media briefing at the Paris Air Show, per National Defense.

McDonald’s comments indicated that the aerospace and defense giant had finally completed the long-overdue Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) software and hardware upgrade. When asked about the state of the TR-3 upgrade completion, the Lockheed Martin executive told reporters, “We believe we have reached that point.”

Since its announcement, the full capabilities that the TR-3 upgrade would offer haven’t been disclosed. The F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) has indicated that TR-3, which is necessary for the Block 4 aircraft to have its functionality available, would include an improved sensor suite, enabling the fifth-generation multirole stealth fighter to carry more long-range precision weapons. It also features improved electronic warfare (EW) capabilities and enhanced data fusion.

McDonald confirmed that the new Block 4 models will be significantly enhanced.

“Number one, all the sensors [are] being improved dramatically. Number two is the ability to carry more and different types of........

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