Sitrep: F-35 upgrades aim for more compute power (and maybe new software)

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The F-35 Lightning II fighter has generated a lot of hype and a lot of hate over the past decade. But the next three years will see major changes to the aircraft that will, with any luck, at least mute some of the hate-or otherwise, just add billions more to the cost of the aircraft.

The Tech Refresh 3 program for the F-35 includes an upgrade of the aircraft's core processor and memory and the replacement of the aircraft's Panoramic Cockpit Display-the big-screen display that is the user interface for many of the aircraft's sensors and systems. There are also radar upgrades and some weapons-handling hardware changes in store, but a vast proportion of the upcoming changes will be in software.

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