Pentagon Withholds $5 Million for Each F-35 Jet Until Software Upgrades Are Complete

Lockheed Martin is the primary developer of the F-35 stealth combat jets.

An RAF Lockheed Martin F-35B fighter jet taxis along a runway after landing at the Royal International Air Tattoo at Fairford, Great Britain, on July 8, 2016. Peter Nicholls/Reuters

Though F-35 jet deliveries resumed in July, the U.S. military is withholding $5 million in payment per jet to Lockheed Martin until technological upgrades are completed, the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) said on Thursday.

The JPO is a division of the Naval Air Systems Command that oversees the program management of the F-35 stealth jet series.