Lockheed names software specialists to lead the F-35 jet program

Lockheed Martin is hiring a software engineering specialist to lead its F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program as its current director retires.

Chauncey McIntosh, currently Lockheed's vice president and its deputy for the F-35 program, will take over leadership of the program on Dec. 1, the company said Wednesday.

Bridget Lauderdale, who currently leads Lockheed's F-35 program, will retire at the end of the year after 38 years with the company.

“Chauncey is an exceptional leader with strong qualifications needed to lead the F-35 program,” said Greg Ulmer, president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. “Critical leadership positions like these will continue to advance our 21st century security solutions to support our growing customer needs.”

21st Century Security is Lockheed Martin's strategy to integrate physical hardware with digital technologies and make defense supply chains more resilient.

McIntosh previously served as vice president and general manager of integrated warfare systems and sensors at Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems. During this time, McIntosh oversaw software development for the Aegis weapons system as well as management of the missile defense, radar, shipbuilding, directed energy and combat systems integration programs.

The F-35 program has struggled with its own software problems, which were a major factor in the recent year-long delivery halt. As of July 2023, the Pentagon refused to accept delivery of new F-35s that were supposed to include an upgrade called Technology Refresh 3, or TR-3, that promised better displays, computer memory and processing power.

TR-3 experienced software problems and difficulty integrating with the F-35's new hardware. This, along with delays in hardware, led to a halt in deliveries and dozens of fighter jets being stored at the Lockheed factory in Fort Worth, Texas.

Lockheed eventually developed a “shortened” form of the software that worked well enough to deliver the jets and conduct training missions. But these jets still can't fly combat missions and probably won't be combat ready until 2025. The government is withholding about $5 million in payments to Lockheed for each jet until the TR-3's combat capability is qualified and deployed.

In addition to working with the F-35 and Aegis programs, McIntosh's tenure at Lockheed also included overseeing program and project management, software development, systems engineering and avionics design for the F-22 Raptor, C-5 Galaxy, P-3 Orion and S-3 Viking aircraft.