SÃO JOSÉ DOS CAMPOS, Brazil — The Pentagon is seeking an additional $13.7 billion to boost sustainment of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, whose readiness rates continue to decline despite years of concerted effort, according to a new watchdog report.
In a wide-ranging review of F-35 sustainment published today, the Government Accountability Office revealed the tri-variant F-35’s full mission capable rate — where a jet can meet all of its assigned missions — dipped from 38 percent in fiscal 2021 to 25 percent in FY25. The stealth fighter’s mission capability rate, measured by whether an aircraft can perform one of its designated tasks, similarly fell from 67 percent to 44 percent over the same period. (Some of that decline, GAO noted, is driven by a lengthy delay for an upgrade called Technology Refresh 3, whose woes previously froze deliveries.)
To arrest the trend, the F-35 Joint Program Office last year launched what’s known as a “Global Support Solution Reset,” according to GAO. The additional billions of dollars in planned spending envisioned by the effort would be spread across FY26 through FY31, though GAO found “multiple risks” lay ahead for the reset effort to meet its readiness targets.
