Jet Continues to Lag Behind Combat Readiness Marks

Further studies from the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) have determined that, after six years and over $12 billion in investments, the F-35 Lightning stealth fighter is still not combat-ready. This raises concerns regarding the fifth-gen jet’s ability to anchor down American air superiority.

As a part of a tactical aviation readiness report, the GAO tracked how closely US aircraft were meeting their intended mission-capable rates from 2018 to 2023. This so-called ‘mission-capable rate’ is a percentage of the “total time when the aircraft can fly and perform at least one mission” and is “used to assess the health and readiness of an aircraft fleet,” the GAO explained.

In its analysis, the GAO determined that the Air Force’s F-35A "did not meet its mission capable goals in any of the years we reviewed.” It also reported that the F-35B and F-35C variants, operated by the Marine Corps and Navy, failed to perform up to standards during the entire six-year period.

This means that the $12 billion used on maintenance and development efforts is still not producing favorable results. The majority of the funding, $7.46 billion, was used on the Air Force fleet, with $2.75 billion directed to the Marines and the last $1.87 billion being for the Navy.

The F-35 isn’t alone; the F-22 Raptor, EA-18G Growler, F/A-18 A-D Hornets, AV-8B Harrier, and F-15E Strike Eagle also didn’t meet expectations for all six years. The F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, F-16D, F-15D, and A-10 Warthog missed the mark 5 years out of six. The F-16C and F-15C were half successful, being on target with goals for three years.

"None of the 15 tactical aircraft variants met their mission capable goals in fiscal year 2023," the GAO reported.

“The F-35 is proven in combat and performing for 14 military services around the world today,” stated Lt. Gen. Mike Schmidt, who serves as director and program executive officer of the F-35 Joint Program Office. “With this in mind, I am not satisfied with our readiness today — and our team is doing everything in its power to drive availability to levels our users expect.”

FMI: www.gao.gov