US Lockheed Martin Quietly Builds Sixth-Gen Prototypes as F-35 and F-22 Jets Enter New Phase
{loadposition bannertop}
{loadposition sidebarpub}
Lockheed Martin is developing company-funded prototypes that weave sixth-generation technologies into the F-35 and F-22 fighter lines, marking a self-financed push to accelerate innovation after its NGAD loss. The move could reshape U.S. air dominance by merging stealth, autonomy, and digital upgrades into current fleets ahead of the Air Force’s next-gen timeline.
According to information published by Air & Space Forces Magazine, on October 21, 2025, Lockheed Martin is now building company-funded prototype aircraft and inserting sixth-generation technologies into the F-35 and F-22, a pivot CEO Jim Taiclet described as a “home-run” approach to independent R&D. The move follows the firm’s NGAD setback and arrives as the F-35 program pushes through the TR-3 computing refresh that underpins Block 4 upgrades. Those upgrades focus on electronic warfare, weapons integration, communications, and navigation, expanding the jet’s magazine depth and sensor reach. Lockheed also unveiled the Skunk Works Vectis escort drone as a CCA-class teammate for crewed fighters, signaling a near-term path to manned-unmanned teaming. The company says production tempo is steady and allied demand is widening, with Denmark signaling additional buys.Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
Lockheed Martin is self-funding prototype fighters and integrating sixth-generation technologies into the F-35 and F-22, aiming to accelerate advanced capabilities such as AI-enabled sensors, electronic warfare, and manned-unmanned teaming while reducing reliance on government funding (Picture source: U.S. DoW).
At the hardware level, sixth-generation insertions for F-35 and F-22 revolve around stealth refinements, inlet and propulsion advances, coatings, and survivability measures drawn from Skunk Works programs. On F-35 specifically, the TR-3 backbone introduces a new integrated core processor, expanded memory, and an upgraded panoramic cockpit display to enable more complex algorithms and future sensors. Those computing gains unlock Block 4’s larger set of electronic attack options, improved target recognition, and expanded missile carriage, while preserving an open mission systems architecture to speed spiral upgrades. Recent oversight reporting confirms that the re-scoped Block 4 concentrates on EW, weapons, comms, and navigation, with some features deferred pending engine decisions.
For the F-22, Lockheed’s current work package includes new infrared threat-detection sensors, addressing a long-standing need to passively spot and classify targets in congested airspace. Paired with upgrades to the Raptor’s data links and electronic protection, such sensors aim to restore first-look, first-shot advantages against peer stealth fighters and long-range SAM networks.
What distinguishes a true sixth-generation leap is the accordance of these stealth and sensor improvements with a “family of systems” that brings in autonomous wingmen, resilient, low-probability-of-intercept data links, cognitive EW, and distributed processing across the formation. That is the NGAD design philosophy the Air Force has articulated, and Lockheed’s Vectis concept fits squarely inside it as a survivable Group 5 CCA built for escort, sensing, and strike alongside F-35 and F-22. In short, the fighter becomes a quarterback for an adaptive network rather than a single silver bullet.
Block 4 plus sixth-gen insertions would compress the kill chain. More onboard compute and multispectral apertures mean earlier target detection at longer ranges; tighter sensor fusion means cleaner tracks and fewer handoffs; stronger EW and electronic attack give the pilot options to blind, deceive, or suppress rather than just shoot. With CCA teammates flying forward as decoys, shooters, or off-board sensors, the human pilot can probe integrated air defenses while staying outside the densest threat rings. That approach aligns with Air Force plans to field crewed and uncrewed packages tailored to specific missions and to operate effectively in highly contested environments.
Lockheed’s decision to self-finance prototypes matters beyond engineering. In U.S. defense acquisition, independent R&D is an allowable cost category, yet shouldered up-front by industry, giving primes latitude to shape requirements and compress schedules by showing working hardware rather than slide decks. It also shifts risk from government to the balance sheets of firms, confident they can win back investment through scale or sustainment. Critics note this can privilege cash-rich incumbents; supporters counter that it accelerates fielding in an era when China’s air and missile forces are modernizing quickly.
Lockheed reports a large F-35 backlog and expects a global fleet exceeding 3,500 aircraft across the U.S. and 19 allies, with Belgium and Denmark eyeing more jets. That footprint, and the common digital backbone now being upgraded, gives Washington and NATO a platform to diffuse sixth-gen capabilities at scale, narrowing the time gap between breakthrough and fielded force. In a world where air superiority is contested daily, self-funded prototypes are not just a corporate bet. They are a statement that speed, interoperability, and survivability will be bought the hard way, by flying before talking.
{loadposition bannertop}
{loadposition sidebarpub}
Lockheed Martin is developing company-funded prototypes that weave sixth-generation technologies into the F-35 and F-22 fighter lines, marking a self-financed push to accelerate innovation after its NGAD loss. The move could reshape U.S. air dominance by merging stealth, autonomy, and digital upgrades into current fleets ahead of the Air Force’s next-gen timeline.
According to information published by Air & Space Forces Magazine, on October 21, 2025, Lockheed Martin is now building company-funded prototype aircraft and inserting sixth-generation technologies into the F-35 and F-22, a pivot CEO Jim Taiclet described as a “home-run” approach to independent R&D. The move follows the firm’s NGAD setback and arrives as the F-35 program pushes through the TR-3 computing refresh that underpins Block 4 upgrades. Those upgrades focus on electronic warfare, weapons integration, communications, and navigation, expanding the jet’s magazine depth and sensor reach. Lockheed also unveiled the Skunk Works Vectis escort drone as a CCA-class teammate for crewed fighters, signaling a near-term path to manned-unmanned teaming. The company says production tempo is steady and allied demand is widening, with Denmark signaling additional buys.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
Lockheed Martin is self-funding prototype fighters and integrating sixth-generation technologies into the F-35 and F-22, aiming to accelerate advanced capabilities such as AI-enabled sensors, electronic warfare, and manned-unmanned teaming while reducing reliance on government funding (Picture source: U.S. DoW).
At the hardware level, sixth-generation insertions for F-35 and F-22 revolve around stealth refinements, inlet and propulsion advances, coatings, and survivability measures drawn from Skunk Works programs. On F-35 specifically, the TR-3 backbone introduces a new integrated core processor, expanded memory, and an upgraded panoramic cockpit display to enable more complex algorithms and future sensors. Those computing gains unlock Block 4’s larger set of electronic attack options, improved target recognition, and expanded missile carriage, while preserving an open mission systems architecture to speed spiral upgrades. Recent oversight reporting confirms that the re-scoped Block 4 concentrates on EW, weapons, comms, and navigation, with some features deferred pending engine decisions.
For the F-22, Lockheed’s current work package includes new infrared threat-detection sensors, addressing a long-standing need to passively spot and classify targets in congested airspace. Paired with upgrades to the Raptor’s data links and electronic protection, such sensors aim to restore first-look, first-shot advantages against peer stealth fighters and long-range SAM networks.
What distinguishes a true sixth-generation leap is the accordance of these stealth and sensor improvements with a “family of systems” that brings in autonomous wingmen, resilient, low-probability-of-intercept data links, cognitive EW, and distributed processing across the formation. That is the NGAD design philosophy the Air Force has articulated, and Lockheed’s Vectis concept fits squarely inside it as a survivable Group 5 CCA built for escort, sensing, and strike alongside F-35 and F-22. In short, the fighter becomes a quarterback for an adaptive network rather than a single silver bullet.
Block 4 plus sixth-gen insertions would compress the kill chain. More onboard compute and multispectral apertures mean earlier target detection at longer ranges; tighter sensor fusion means cleaner tracks and fewer handoffs; stronger EW and electronic attack give the pilot options to blind, deceive, or suppress rather than just shoot. With CCA teammates flying forward as decoys, shooters, or off-board sensors, the human pilot can probe integrated air defenses while staying outside the densest threat rings. That approach aligns with Air Force plans to field crewed and uncrewed packages tailored to specific missions and to operate effectively in highly contested environments.
Lockheed’s decision to self-finance prototypes matters beyond engineering. In U.S. defense acquisition, independent R&D is an allowable cost category, yet shouldered up-front by industry, giving primes latitude to shape requirements and compress schedules by showing working hardware rather than slide decks. It also shifts risk from government to the balance sheets of firms, confident they can win back investment through scale or sustainment. Critics note this can privilege cash-rich incumbents; supporters counter that it accelerates fielding in an era when China’s air and missile forces are modernizing quickly.
Lockheed reports a large F-35 backlog and expects a global fleet exceeding 3,500 aircraft across the U.S. and 19 allies, with Belgium and Denmark eyeing more jets. That footprint, and the common digital backbone now being upgraded, gives Washington and NATO a platform to diffuse sixth-gen capabilities at scale, narrowing the time gap between breakthrough and fielded force. In a world where air superiority is contested daily, self-funded prototypes are not just a corporate bet. They are a statement that speed, interoperability, and survivability will be bought the hard way, by flying before talking.
