New shake-up from the Government Accountability Office (Gao), an independent agency that supports the US Congress in monitoring the federal government’s actions and spending, on the F-35 program.
The stealth jet produced by Lockheed Martin is the most advanced fighter-bomber in the US armed forces’ inventory. But besides being one of the most advanced, the aircraft is also one of the most expensive (about 80 million dollars per unit). Not only that.
“The F-35 is the Department of Defense’s most expensive weapon system, but it has not met performance goals and the aircraft’s maintenance costs continue to rise,” the Gao stated in black and white in the summary attached to the report.
According to the new report, only one in four F-35s is fully operational today and the costs to keep the fleet operational continue to grow.
Specifically, the availability levels of the US fifth-generation fighter further deteriorated in fiscal year 2025, according to the recent Gao report published on June 11 and cited by Defense News. The Joint Program Office (JPO) aims to reverse the trend through the Global Support Solution Reset plan, which will require additional investments worth billions of dollars in the coming years.
All the details.
F-35 OPERATIONAL RATES WORSEN
The operational rates of the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter have continued to decline through fiscal year 2025, with the fleet’s full operational rate dropping to 25%, according to the new Government Accountability Office report published Thursday.
The operational rate, which measures the percentage of time an aircraft can perform at least one of its assigned missions, fell from 67% in fiscal year 2021 to 44% in fiscal year 2025, the Gao found, reports Defense News. The full operational rate, meaning the percentage of time an aircraft can perform all assigned missions, dropped from 38% to 25% over the same period.
CAUSES OF THE DROP IN OPERATIONAL READINESS
According to the Gao, US Air Force officials attribute part of the deterioration recorded in 2025 to delays in the software development needed to make newly delivered aircraft fully operational. Negative impacts were also caused by shortages of spare parts and corrosion issues that limited aircraft availability.
THE PENTAGON’S PLAN
To address the fleet’s declining availability, the Joint Program Office launched the Global Support Solution Reset (GSS Reset) program in June 2025.
The stated goal is to achieve an 80% operational rate and a 65% full operational rate by 2030.
According to JPO estimates, the plan will require an additional 13.7 billion dollars beyond previous spending forecasts through fiscal year 2031. Individual armed services will need to request these funds through their respective annual budgets.
The GAO highlights that only about 2.2 billion dollars are directly linked to GSS Reset initiatives, while the remaining 11.5 billion would be needed to close the gap between allocated resources and those actually required to sustain the F-35 fleet.
RISKS
The Joint Program Office itself acknowledged to the Gao that the situation could worsen before improving. Program documentation suggests that significant progress may not materialize before the end of 2026 or even later.
The report also identifies several risk factors. Among these is the heavy reliance on the private industrial base for the supply of over 7 billion dollars in additional components and materials.
“The JPO will depend on the private sector for the supply of over 7 billion dollars in components and other additional material. But capacity constraints persist for key components,” the report states.
A study conducted by Lockheed Martin in 2025 identified 48 components that the supply chain is unable to produce in sufficient quantities.
INCREASING SUSTAINMENT COSTS
In addition to logistical and maintenance problems, the report highlights a steady rise in management costs.
According to Gao estimates, by the mid-2030s, the US armed forces could face an annual shortfall of about 1.2 billion dollars between the cost needed to maintain the F-35s and the resources they believe they can sustain.
These estimates may underestimate the problem, Defense News emphasizes. The Gao noted that projections for fiscal year 2027 were developed before Operation Epic Fury in Iran and may not include costs associated with additional flight hours.
CRITICISMS OF INCENTIVES PAID TO LOCKHEED MARTIN
Furthermore, the report also examined the system of financial incentives granted to the program’s main contractors.
Between 2020 and 2023, the Joint Program Office paid Lockheed Martin over 114 million dollars of about 269 million available as bonuses linked to improving the fleet’s full operational capability and spare parts availability.
According to the report, however, during the same period these indicators remained substantially unchanged or worsened. The situation was different for Pratt & Whitney, responsible for the F-35 engines, which according to the report met maintenance goals starting in 2022 after addressing issues identified in previous audits.
LOCKHEED MARTIN’S POSITION
In a statement to Defense News, Lockheed Martin reaffirmed its commitment to the F-35.
“Lockheed Martin continues to collaborate with the Joint Program Office and our industrial partners to ensure efficient and effective support to the armed forces,” said a spokesperson for the defense giant based in Bethesda. “We have recently invested over 2 billion dollars in advance funding to accelerate the delivery of spare parts and increase operational readiness rates of the entire F-35 fleet.”
The Joint Program Office also expressed support for the report’s conclusions.
“Through our Global Support Solution Reset initiative, the JPO remains focused on achieving our operational readiness goals for 2030 and ensuring rigorous fiscal accountability.”
