Sept 6 (Reuters) – U.S. weapons maker Lockheed Martin on Wednesday cut its delivery outlook for its F-35 jets, and delayed deliveries of its updated Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) jets.

Shares of the company were down about 2% in early trade.

Lockheed said in a filing it expects to deliver 97 aircraft in the year, down from its prior outlook of between 100 and 120 jets.

The company’s advanced F-35 jet is its largest program, having generated 27% of total consolidated net sales and 66% of aeronautics’ net sales in 2022 on the back of an influx of orders from countries ramping up their defense spend.

Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed added it expects to deliver its first TR-3 jet between April and June next year. The company previously forecast deliveries of its first TR-3 jet to be in 2023.

The Pentagon had also delayed final delivery acceptance for F-35 jets, leading to a payment delay of about $7 million per jet.

In July, the defense contractor had said completion of the software integration testing would likely cause delays to its TR-3 jet.

“The number of 2024 F-35 deliveries will depend on when the first TR-3 aircraft is delivered and the time needed to complete the customer’s acceptance process,” the company said.

Lockheed added it is producing the jets at a rate of 156 per year and expects to continue at that pace while working to finalize TR-3 software development and testing.

Photo Rob Vogelaar