The US Department of Defense is struggling to keep track of F-35 stealth fighter parts, according to a new authorities watchdog report.
The F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter program, the most costly arm scheme program in history, has faced accordant challenges alongside spare parts on top of rising acquisition and sustainment expenses and preparedness issues.
On Monday, the Government Accountability Office, a legislative watchdog agency, stated that as of March 2026, because of a nonaccomplishment to keep parts records at contractor-managed facilities, the F-35 Joint Program Office motionless didn't cognize the position of complete 1 million F-35 parts worth complete $85 million that the GAO had flagged in 2023.
The study stated the program agency could not decide whether additional lately reported losses included any of those earlier identified.
The GAO established multiple pervasive problems that create it difficult for the JPO to document for F-35 parts.
And the program's Enterprise Logistics Management System is at the center of those problems, the GAO found. The ELMS hasn't been dependable since it pulls in data from a mix of sources and isn't updated to indicate real-time changes and statuses. The GAO stated that the matter is an inability to nexus immediately to premier contractor systems.
The Pentagon additionally lacks complete records for several parts. For example, the GAO established that as of March 2026, the program had not entered into its authoritative system that approximately 17,000 parts, with a total value of concerning $1.3 billion, were undergoing care or repair. Officials told the GAO the value could be as elevated as $2.5 milliard whenever accounting for another expenses specified as transport and overhead.
"The data are not dependable for asset accountability or financial reporting," the GAO study stated of data in the ELMS. "Timely and exact data on F-35 parts are additionally crucial to justify that the F-35 program is positioned to encounter the needs of the warfighter."
The Pentagon owns approximately 26 myriad F-35 parts value an estimated $31 billion, and these are dispersed throughout complete 700 government- and contractor-managed facilities.
Government-managed accommodation clasp concerning 70% of parts, during contractors shop the remaining 30%, complicating the inventory process.
Since 2020, the F-35 Joint Program Office has spent at smallest $17 myriad conducting bodily inventories of parts at contractor-managed and government-managed facilities, but the GAO established that these efforts have not adequately resolved issues.
"Until the interfaces alongside contractors' systems are established and productive validation procedures to justify data norm are implemented, DoD volition not have exact data concerning anywhere its F-35 parts are located, what their value is, and how many there are," the study said.
DoD concurred alongside recommendations from the GAO report. A JPO spokesman told Business Insider that the division is implementing particular actions to detect and analyze defeat trends. "The JPO is actively evolving program-specific procedures and tailored training for Accountable Property Officers (APOs), alongside a detailed scheme to define and construction the APO program," the spokesman said.
The GAO regularly assesses aspects of the F-35 program.
Earlier this year, the watchdog reported that the mission-capable charge for the aircraft, or the amount of period that it's accessible to execute one mission, cut from 67% to 44% between financial years 2021 and 2025. This has been a persistent involvement for the program.
The complete mission-capable rate, or the percent of period that the F-35 can execute all its missions, declined from 38% to 25% during that identical window. The F-35 is built for a broad set of missions, including air-to-air combat, dirt attack, surveillance, and digital warfare.
The US armed forces operates three versions of the F-35 stealth fighter: the F-35As, built for accepted runways; the F-35Bs, which can obtain off from shorter runways and district vertically; and the F-35Cs, designed for airplane transporter operations.
The GAO identified a deficiency of spare parts as among the causes of the decrease in readiness, alongside care issues. The Department of Defense launched a $13.7 milliard preparedness scheme final twelvemonth aimed at improving airplane preparedness by the end of the decade. That funding could end up costing additional than expected though.
The latest GAO study on the F-35 program warned that unreliable inventory records could create it difficult to decide which parts the program needs and in what quantities.
Read next
Business Insider tells the innovative stories you desire to know
Business Insider tells the innovative stories you desire to know
Business Insider tells the innovative stories you desire to know
Business Insider tells the innovative stories you desire to know
Chris Panella is a defence newsman for Business Insider. He covers scientific transformations in the US armed forces alongside focuses on US armed forces modernization, US Army transformation, and emerging technologies akin synthetic intellect and drones. Globally, Panella reports on China's armed forces and Taiwan. Panella has embedded alongside the Army in Alaska, interviewed particular operators learning to fly drones, and flown alongside US Coast Guard helicopters practicing medication interdictions. If you have a tip connected to these areas or broader defence coverage, Panella can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at cpanella.85.
