it was revealed this week that all F-35s delivered for the past year have had no radars installed, and were instead outfitted with gym weights in the nose as a “temporary” counterweight

https://www.twz.com/air/are-f-35s-being-delivered-to-the-usaf-without-radars-sure-seems-like-it Could the Chinese Rare Earth Mineral (or as Trump would say, "Raw Earth") export controls be having a much larger impact than publicly understood? https://www.twitter.com/Mark4XX/status/2021508362500735048 Alt link: https://xcancel.com/Mark4XX/status/2021508362500735048 > IS LUKE GROMEN RIGHT? F-35s NOW FLYING WITHOUT RADARS – THE CORNERED ANIMAL STRIKES AGAIN > > Recent headlines confirm an astonishing vulnerability in America's top fighter jet program. New F-35s are rolling off the line without their advanced radars, forced to use temporary ballast just to stay balanced. This is further evidence that Luke Gromen's "cornered animal" warning about desperate U.S. escalation might be spot on. > > THE F-35 RADAR CRISIS UNFOLDS > ✅ Since June 2025, new F-35s arrive without any radar installed. > ➡️ The planned AN/APG-85 upgrade—meant for Lot 17 in 2025—has slipped, possibly to Lot 20 in coming years. > ⚙️ Mounting differences between old AN/APG-81 and new AN/APG-85 make swaps impossible on these airframes. > > BALLAST AS A BAND-AID FIX > ✅ Nose ballast keeps the jet balanced for flight. > ➡️ Planes can still fly and operate—but only when linked to other equipped F-35s sharing data. > ❌ In real combat? This peacetime workaround spells serious trouble. > > WHY DELAYS PERSIST > ✅ Technical hurdles: upgraded power, cooling, and Gallium Nitride tech slow testing dramatically. > 📉 Supply chain strains—some point to rare earth restrictions from China—add pressure. > 🔍 Lockheed even floated redesigning the fuselage to handle both radars, but that takes more time. > > TIES BACK TO GROMEN'S THEORY > ✅ Gromen warned U.S. defense supply chains could collapse in 8-12 months without action. > ➡️ Critical minerals like rare earths (essential for GaN radars) remain China-dominated. > ⚡ Escalation buys time—better mutual pain now than unilateral weakness later. > > THE SCARY PARALLEL > ✅ F-35s symbolize U.S. military edge, yet production hits real-world limits. > 🤯 "We're going to run out of the ability to make weapons" echoes louder with each delay. > 📈 This isn't isolated—it's part of broader critical mineral chokepoints. > > THE BOTTOM LINE > Luke Gromen's cornered animal theory gains credibility as F-35s fly radar-free with ballast weights: Washington's aggressive posture may stem from a frantic race against fraying supply chains that threaten core defense capabilities. > The louder the roar, the deeper the vulnerability exposed.